When planning for retirement, one crucial activity can significantly impact the direction of your retirement journey: setting goals for yourself. Goal setting is a powerful tool that fuels our desire to strive and keeps us curious and motivated. In this third trimester of life, having a sense of purpose and curiosity becomes even more vital. But, goal setting for retirement is a little different to what most people expect. It is no longer just deciding what to strive for. Instead, it involves three fundamental questions that shape how you approach this phase of life, like when you were a teenager setting your first career direction when you didn't know who you were.

Retirement marks a significant shift in identity. Your transition from being defined by "what you do" to contemplating "what you do" all over again. The key is to pause, reset, and comfortably identify with "who you are" or "who you want to be" in this stage of life before determining how to fill your time with doing. Often, this requires reflecting on what truly motivates you and energises you. It's wise to approach goal setting for retirement as a three-step process, dedicating attention to reconsidering your vision of yourself before putting plans in place. If you get these two elements right, it will make the more tactical decisions about spending your time in retirement relatively simple and logical.

So what are the three steps?

Step 1: Rediscover your identity or ask yourself, 'Who do you want to be?'

Before diving into the specifics of what activities or pursuits to spend your time on in retirement, take the time to reconnect with your true identity. Tackle the more challenging step of reflecting on your values, passions, and aspirations for yourself. Consider the qualities that define you and what brings you joy. Who do you want to be in this new phase of life? What will your attitude be? And what will that mean for how you approach life activities, challenges and bumps? Embrace the opportunity to redefine yourself beyond your past career accomplishments attitudinally. Understanding and accepting your evolving identity and setting who you want to be will pave the way for a more consistent, fulfilling retirement that can become your identity in this next stage.

Step 2: Exploring your motivations and energisers

Once you have worked through who you want to be, you can focus on understanding what motivates and energises you. Retirement offers the freedom to pursue activities based on personal fulfilment rather than external expectations. So take time to think about the things that excite you, the experiences you've always wanted to have, the areas of interest you've been eager to explore and the people you want to be there for. Consider the hobbies, passions, or causes that ignite a sense of purpose within you and the things that put you in 'the zone'. This exploration phase is essential for crafting meaningful goals that align with your authentic self.

So take the time to understand your motivations and energisers, and you lay the foundation for setting compelling goals for retirement.

Step 3: Putting some tactical actions in place

Only once you have this clarity should you decide the 'things you will do' in your retirement to become the person you want to be. And with this clarity about who you want to be, it should be much easier to see and define. As things change and you get older, you can adapt quickly, trimming your sails but not changing direction if you know who you want to be at the core.

Your more tactical goals should reflect your desired identity and your motivators and energisers and point you toward the people, activities and pursuits that bring you joy, fulfilment, and a sense of purpose.

Establishing short-term and long-term goals is essential to provide structure and direction to your retirement journey.

Short-term goals act as stepping stones toward your larger aspirations. They can be centred around immediate interests or projects you want to pursue. These goals provide a sense of achievement and progress as you navigate your early retirement years. Long-term goals, on the other hand, lean into the broader vision for your retirement. They may involve significant milestones, such as travelling to specific destinations, being a part of philanthropic endeavours, being interwoven in the lives of loved ones or learning new skills.

It's important to note that goals are not set in stone and can evolve. If you know who you want to be in retirement, you then have the flexibility to adapt and explore new paths to get you there. I encourage you to embrace having the ability to reassess and modify your goals as your interests and circumstances change.

A great example of this process featured in my book, How to Have an Epic Retirement, is that of Ted, who decided very early in his retirement that he wanted to be involved, fun and engaged with his grandchildren, hoping that in doing so he would get to enjoy their younger years but also, that when he grew older, that he would be able to maintain that connection. '"Even when he was older and less cool". Knowing he wanted to be this, he could be specific about the steps he should take to become that person. When he saw his grandchildren when they were young, he would ensure his attention was focused on them. He was always fun and exciting, creating adventures and bringing joy. And when he was with them, he would go into their worlds, asking them about themselves, curiously exploring their interests. As they grew, they noticed and enjoyed his genuine interest in them and took a genuine interest in him. And now those teenagers are almost grown and drive 2+ hours to visit him on the university holidays to keep that connection alive and thriving. As they've grown and he's aged, their relationships have matured and are in a wonderful place. He decided who he wanted to be and set the actions in place, adjusting the sails as he went.

So I ask you today - the three big questions you should ask yourself… Who will you be when you are retired? What will motivate and energise you? And then, what will you do to bring that to life? This goal-setting can play a pivotal role in shaping a fulfilling retirement.