The 7 Steps-
Step 6. Finding Your True Purpose

Step 7

In the previous phase of life a Third Ager's purpose was mainly a function of their major roles, those of achieving success in a career and raising a family.

• My purpose is to have and raise children.
• My purpose is to build a business for my heirs.
• My purpose is to help people by becoming a doctor.
• My purpose is to amass a fortune.

In the Third Age the description of purpose starts to get somewhat elusive. With ties and duties to career and family either lessening or gone, the question of purpose expands to mean, What is my purpose in life?

The question has become deeper than simply career, or even family. It contains other questions within it, like

• Why am I here,
• What is the meaning of my life,
• How will I feel about my life when my 100th birthday or death finally comes?

In the Third Age, more than any other time of life, people will find meaning and fulfillment by knowing the purpose of their life. Because there are so many losses to bear - deaths of friends and loved ones, diminishment of physical capacities, dissolution of previous identities - the Third Age is a time when knowing and believing in one's purpose is what gets you through. Knowing their purpose in life - and fully living it - lets Third Agers tap into rich reserves of energy, power, passion and joy. In many cases purpose involves some form of contribution to society, of "giving back." Talks and exercises to discover one's purpose range from plotting and writing out life charts to following guided meditations, from encouragement to attempt community service to group discussions on each individual's needs. The resistance is Identity Turbulence, where people have been rendered helpless to understand their purpose by the shifting identities encountered in their transition to the Third Age.