The Power of Purpose in Your 2025 Planning
What might be even better than having a Happy New Year?
Having a purposeful 2025.
Longevity experts who study "blue zones" where folks live the longest have popularized the Japanese concept of "ikigai," meaning roughly, "having a purpose in life." Their research shows that seniors who are motivated to get out of bed in the morning don't just live longer, they also feel more fulfilled and have healthier habits that nourish their minds, bodies, and souls.
On today's show, we discuss various ways that focusing on purpose could help you set better goals and achieve more in the year ahead.
What are you working towards?
As we've discussed on previous New Year episodes, most of the research suggests that setting "resolutions" just doesn't work. By some estimates, the majority of people abandon their resolutions before the end of February.
Often, that's because "resolutions" aren't specific or personal enough. You're probably not going to follow through on a resolution that's popular on social media or with your friends and family if it doesn't really resonate with you. And if you resolve to "get healthier," for example, well that's too general. How are you going to "get healthier," or "read more," or "manage my money better"?
I think I've been successful with my personal health goals in recent years because I was truly committed to looking and feeling my best on the other side of 50. To realize that goal, I worked with a personal trainer who helped me track and measure my progress, and who held me accountable along the way.
It's those small steps that you can check off regularly, like going to the gym three days every week or automatically contributing a set percentage of your paycheck into your retirement accounts every month, that create tangible forward momentum towards your goals. And the more personal those goals are to you, the more excited you'll be to string together more checkmarks.
What are you enjoying in the moment?
You're never going to "get healthier" if you decide to run every morning but, deep down, you just don't enjoy running. You might need to explore other exercise routines, like cycling, yoga, or tennis until you find something that you're excited to incorporate into your daily routine.
That tension between short-term and long-term purpose can be difficult to resolve, especially when it comes to financial planning. At every stage of life, most of us have big money goals that we're working towards: buying a home, paying for college, starting your own business, planning for retirement.
But there's a lot of life that happens in between those major markers! As important as it is to make those monthly contributions that are helping you secure your retirement, it's also important to make regular "investments" in your relationships, your hobbies, your personal growth. In my experience as a financial advisor, folks who get comfortable making those kinds of responsible investments throughout their lives have a much easier time transitioning into retirement and moving from a "saving" mindset to a "reward" mindset. These folks have learned to use their money not just to accumulate more money, but to cultivate purpose in multiple areas of their lives.
In other words, don't wait! If giving back to your community is what gives you purpose, don't just focus on your legacy plan. Start making meaningful donations now, take regular volunteer shifts, or mentor the next generation of talent in your field.
Don't wait until retirement to spend more time with your family. Take your spouse out to dinner, schedule vacations, or coach your kids' sports teams.
And when you are ready to retire, have a plan in place to focus more of your resources on the people and activities that are going to maximize your purpose.
How can planning help?
In 2015, one of my goals for the New Year was to start a podcast and keep up a regular schedule of publishing new episodes and blog posts. That's because educating folks about financial planning topics and helping people make better money decisions is one of my purposes as a financial advisor.
227 episodes later, Keen on Retirement is still fulfilling that purpose for me, and hopefully for our audience as well. In the weeks ahead, we'll start looking ahead to topics like tax season and the economic agenda for the new Trump administration. But we will always try to scale these larger topics down so that folks understand the potential ramifications for their personal financial plans.
A big thanks to everyone who continues to support Keen on Retirement. If you’re not already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider finding us on your favorite podcast platforms. And if you want to take that next step in 2025 and make more purposeful investments in your financial future, click here to schedule an appointment.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.
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