Secrets to the Joy of Working After 60: Stop Doing What You Don’t Like Doing

“Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it!” – Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know (2005)

Your success in your work-life or life’s work is more about sculpting and editing rather than accumulating or building. This means examining what you don’t want in your life to make room for what you do want.

Secret No. 2 – Stop Doing What You Don’t Like Doing

Research from the Gallup Organization and from Marcus Buckingham, concludes that stretching yourself with new and challenging assignments by engaging in or doing things that are not in alignment with your interests, ability, and capacity WON’T move you toward self-actualization. Buckingham contends that you will not feel energized when you focus on your flaws.

Sculpting a work lifestyle that leads to self-actualization consists of not only discovering your purpose and strengths, but also in knowing when to say “no”. Often, our inability to say “no” jeopardizes what we have built for ourselves. Consistently saying “yes” when we need to say “no” chips away at our self-regard.

I recall Cheryl Richardson’s quote in Stand Up for Your Life, 2003… “Pass up good for great”. That requires saying “no”. Almost two decades later, this “self-honouring” strategy holds fast, especially as we create the work lifestyle we always wanted.

As we enter our sixty’s, we no longer have the luxury of “trying things” that are not clearly aligned with our strengths. We no longer have that long runway ahead of us. Nor do we have excess energy to make another approach or course correction to reach our preferred destination. We simply cannot waste precious fuel.

The longer you put up with aspects of your work that don’t play to your strengths and that are not aligned with your core values and purpose, the less you will be rewarded and satisfied with you work life after 60. This is the decade to focus on doing what you do best, what you love, and being very intentional about working toward self-actualization.

What IS Self-Actualization?

This blog series has focused on self-actualization. Simply put……self-actualization is the ability to realize your potential capabilities. This component of emotional intelligence is manifested by your becoming involved in pursuits that lead to a meaningful, rich, and full life.” ~ The EQ Edge, Emotional Intelligence and Your Success., Steven J. Stein, PH.D. and Howard E. Book, M.D.

When you focus on your best talents and what you love to do, you will achieve more. You will experience sustained rewards and satisfaction with your work lifestyle. You will find that your life’s work will be exactly what it should be - on purpose and aligned with who you are.

Sometimes the path is laid down one piece at a time throughout a person’s career. When you look back with the wisdom gained through years of experiencing what you enjoyed and what you did not enjoy, you are able to be discerning about where to focus your energy through the following decades.

The capacity and capability to move through these decades with a work lifestyle that allows further professional development, offers opportunities to excel in what you do best, and forges a path of continued contribution is a privilege that cannot be wasted.

The answer to fulfillment and success lies within you. It always has been up to you to find out where your passion lies, what you do best, and what professional development you need to achieve self-actualization. The THRIVE Video Series^TM is a collection of interviews with women in their 60s and beyond who have achieved a level of self-actualization with self-responsibility. Check out their stories shared on the YouTube channel

Are you preparing for what’s next? Are you pondering “retirement” or continuing to work? Are you currently enjoying your work after 60?  Connect with me to learn more about how we can work together to create the work lifestyle you always dreamt about.

If you are enjoying your work after 60 and would like to participate in the THRIVE Video Series^TM, here is my invitation to learn more. Check out the stories shared on the YouTube channel.

Check out: FINDING PURPOSE WITH HUMILITY - My interview with Dianne Finnigan, The Dirty Seahorse.

Let me know how you are doing. I would like to hear from you. You can reach me on LinkedIn and on Maestro’s Facebook. Or click to Get in Touch.

Learn more about self-responsibility and self-actualization in the model of emotional intelligence. Check out the THRIVE in Work and Life^TM programs. Check out the online mini-course Your Building Blocks to Emotional Well-Being and Resilience.