Do you set personal goals for yourself?
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Do I Set Personal Goals?
Not as formally as I used to. Retirement has changed what my goals look like—and how seriously I take the deadlines! 
After more than twenty years with my company, several of us older employees in my division were laid off. We were offered the option of moving back to Indiana and applying for another position alongside hundreds of applicants in their twenties. I couldn’t see starting over that way.
Instead, I took the severance package, packed up, and moved from Colorado to the desert Southwest, where I could retire without shoveling snow or bundling up in heavy winter clothing.
My goal was simple: Don’t die of boredom.
I started pulling out stories I’d written over the years. Then came learning how to edit, revise, create covers, learning new computer programs, and upload books to Amazon. Somewhere along the way, I found my retirement job: being an author.
So much for being bored!
Now my days fill up with writing, editing, and creating everything that goes along with my books. I still make time to relax, read, and watch football, basketball, and college wrestling. Some days, I wonder how I ever had time for a regular job.
After the awards my books received this weekend, this unexpected chapter of my life feels especially exciting and fulfilling.
Do I still have goals? Yes. I want to keep writing, keep learning, and enjoy the life I’m building.
Retirement gave me the time. My stories gave me something wonderful to do with it.
Have your goals changed as you’ve gotten older?
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