Why not be a mentor in your retirement?

Mentoring offers a purpose that makes a difference in the lives of others.

Many people look forward to their golden years as a time to relax, travel and spend time with family and friends.

But sometimes the transition from working to retirement can be a challenge.

Often, seniors feel they are missing a purpose once they no longer have the daily responsibilities of a job.

Mentoring offers a purpose that makes a difference in the lives of others. You might find that mentoring can fill a gap, especially as you are adjusting to your change in lifestyle.

Mentoring can be helping someone to find a job or a change of career or teaching them a new skill, but can also be a way of giving confidence to someone who is scrambling to find their place in life.

Sometimes it is a way of helping them gain confidence and it can be just what they need to be guided down the right pathway.

I came across a young person looking for a job the other day, keen to find an outside occupation. I suggested that while they were looking they could do some volunteering at a local organic garden - an opportunity to make contacts and find out if this sort of job is what they were after.

Mentoring can be good for you as it works in many ways, including helping you maintain your cognitive skills by keeping your brain active.

It can be fun and improve your quality of life, and you will get satisfaction from seeing the person you have mentored move on in life.

Life is short and retirement can be a daunting proposition for some people. Most of us will know when the time is right to retire, and a good way to slowly ease ourselves into our retirement is by reducing our work hours.

If you are considering mentoring you could think about giving your time freely, or you could turn it into a low-key custom-designed job so you can continue to do what you love, thus making a real impact on the future of your industry while it remains financially rewarding.