5 Ways to Find Meaning and Happiness as You Age

Many people associate aging with fewer responsibilities, including less time spent working, parenting, or completing chores around the house. While this newfound freedom can be exciting, it often presents an unexpected challenge: finding different ways of identifying goals and a sense of purpose.

Julie Farr, a licensed clinical social worker in Kansas City, Missouri, explains that throughout our younger adult years, our time becomes more occupied by daily responsibilities, such as career or family obligations. This means our sense of purpose is essentially decided for us.

“We didn’t necessarily have a lot of time to look inside and think: ‘What’s important to me?’” Farr says.

However, later in life, finding purpose doesn’t always come naturally, and we have to make a conscious effort.

“Our culture is so oriented around productivity. After retirement, when we’re no longer connected with that, it’s very hard to adapt to our role,” Farr explains. “While many people look forward to retirement and the empty nest, once the new wears off, this question comes up: ‘What’s the purpose of a life?’”

Healthy habits such as exercising and socializing can provide a foundation for finding meaning and happiness in later years. Along with seeking personal contentment, many seniors desire to pass down values and knowledge to their families and younger generations.^[01]

According to Farr, there are several ways that seniors — often with the help of family or caregivers — can build a sense of purpose.

Often, the best way for caregivers to help seniors achieve happiness and purpose is to encourage them to look outside of themselves. This approach allows them to pass their skills and insights to future generations.

For family-oriented seniors, this may consist of creating a book of family recipes, teaching a grandchild how to knit or sew, or even digging into family history and genealogy. These activities offer an opportunity for leaving a family legacy through mentoring and sharing family stories.

Farr says seniors may benefit from supporting younger generations in the workplace, whether that involves mentoring family members or new employees in their industry.

“Participating in growing young people is a wonderful way for elders to feel that the things they did in their life have purpose,” Farr states. “They might not be able to teach the technical skills, but they can talk about managing, organizing time, and cultivating work-life balance.”

In fact, by participating in mentoring, your senior loved one may benefit from both individual effects and more large-scale societal changes, according to findings from the European Society for Prevention Research. This research found that intergenerational mentoring strengthened seniors’ social well-being and health outcomes, lowering ageism rates in entire communities.^[01]

According to a 2019 study of more than 3,000 seniors, physical health is the strongest predictor of a high quality of life among older adults.^[02] Following this rationale, Farr encourages her clients to consider their actions to protect and strengthen their health.

“Supporting positive mood is a matter of engaging in healthy activities,” says Farr.

She relies on the following checklist of healthy activities. Ask yourself, is your senior loved one:

• Eating a balanced diet?
• Getting enough sleep?
• Keeping “mood-altering activities,” such as drinking alcohol, to a reasonable minimum?
• Getting exposure to nature, sunlight, and vitamin D?
• Exercising regularly?

Let our care assessment guide you

Research from the National Council on Aging recommends that adults incorporate either 30 minutes of moderate or 15 minutes of vigorous exercise into their weekday routine.^[03]If your senior loved one lives in an assisted living community, they likely have access to some of the following group fitness classes and activities: 

• Dancing, including ballroom, swing, and square dancing routines
• Tai chi
• Yoga, including chair yoga for seniors with reduced mobility or injuries
• Swimming
• Zumba
• Cycling or spinning
• Nature-trail walking

A Place for Mom’s proprietary data reveals that 73.1% of our senior care communities have organized exercise classes, such as tai chi, water aerobics, and brain fitness for seniors, including Dakim, yoga and chair yoga, and Forever Fit.

Read more:Weight Training for Seniors: 3 Basic Exercises

Seniors’ expectations and perspectives powerfully influence their ability to find meaning and happiness in later years. An expansive survey published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One asked 3,400 adults to identify what strategies and tips most improved their feelings about aging. The most common responses included “ability to adapt,” “positive attitude,” and “appreciation.”^[04]

Many surveyed seniors described growing older as “living in a new reality” which requires them to adjust to natural effects like fatigue, frailty, and reduced physical strength. As a caregiver, consider that seeing the positive elements in this situation may be difficult, but that it is possible. Farr provides the following example:

“Let’s say a senior has had a fall. They’ve hurt their hip, they’re injured, and they can’t be as mobile,” she says. “On the other hand, they’ll have access to a physical therapist. Maybe they’ll develop a goal to strengthen that area, perhaps to be much stronger than it was before. This can also lead to new interests. For instance, maybe they’re going to continue that growth and try a chair yoga class.”

Other areas can benefit from the positive-focus technique:

• If a senior has never used a computer or tablet, it is often a source of frustration or intimidation. Alternatively, new technology for seniors — such as a fitness tracker, video communication app, or speaker for favorite music — can be “an opportunity to see a whole new world,” says Farr. This flexible philosophy can add more joy to life.
• Due to the extra time retirement provides, seniors may be uncomfortable or bored. However, these unfilled hours can mark the perfect time to delve into new hobbies or rediscover old interests a senior has previously been too busy to enjoy.

Ultimately, new challenges will always be a part of the growth and aging process. Learning to anticipate potential frustrations and to look for ways to learn from them can brighten a senior’s worldview.

Faith and spirituality often inform and enrich someone’s entire worldview. If your elderly parent or loved one belongs to a faith, helping them find a chapel, synagogue, or mosque can assist them in finding meaning and happiness in later years.

For seniors who do not consider themselves religious, spiritual practices like meditation and mindfulness promote happiness by inspiring seniors to stay in the moment, reduce their stress levels, and express gratitude. A PLOS One study found that older adults are more likely to identify as “spiritual” and are more likely to associate aging with a deeper reflection and self-awareness.^[04]

For seniors who take advantage of this inspiring introspection, according to research published in the Scientific Journal of Nursing, Midwifery, and Paramedical Faculty, regular meditation can lessen self-reported anxiety by about 33%.^[05] A wide array of cultural and devotional services come as part of 91.7% of our senior living communities.

Read more:Religious Assisted Living: What to Look for and Where to Find It

Talk with a Senior Living Advisor

Though older adults frequently struggle with loneliness, there are many ways caregivers can help prevent social isolation in seniors. For example, Farr encourages clients to schedule one weekly social activity or outing. Caregivers can also help facilitate this regular socialization.

Of course, some alone time is a good thing, but arranging in-home care or helping your loved one find a social, inclusive senior living community can help keep the more negative effects of solitude at bay. In particular, assisted living communities’ many activities get seniors out of their rooms and encourage them to form new friendships.

Older adults in senior living communities can expect to see versatile and exciting events on their calendar, such as:

• Painting classes
• Book clubs
• Karaoke
• Pool parties
• Happy hours
• Outings to concerts, sporting events, and local museums
• Outdoor activities like picnics and trips to the farmers market

Participating in just one or a few of these activities will likely significantly boost your senior loved one’s happiness. A 2018 study of 411 elderly adults found that, on average, regular socialization enhanced contentment and well-being by 25%.^[06] According to proprietary data from A Place for Mom’s community partners, 94.8% of our communities include on-site and off-site activities.

If you think your parent may benefit from a community environment, A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors can share more information about all types of senior living, information beneficial for caregivers to explore, and specific options in your area. They can also help assess your family’s personalized situation — all at no cost to you.