Want to Experience Meaningful Volunteering? 
Consider Your Talents, Personality and Areas of Satisfaction

Volunteering can give meaning and purpose to retirement.  How to select the right situation depends on your skills, interests and personality.

Retirement is one of the most stressful transitions a person can experience -- comparable in impact to divorce or the death of a loved one.  Many people look forward to retirement as a time of relaxation.  They dream of spending the majority of their time participating in leisure activities.  However, this type of retirement often leads to being irritated and depressed.

Though leisure can be a component of retirement, many retirees report needing more defined structure and meaning in their daily life.  People enjoying a successful retirement need to have a goal or something that gives them a purpose beyond their own needs.  Stefanie Weiss, Communication Director of www.experiencecorps.org, states "A preponderance of research shows that community service provides physical, mental and social benefits".  Research also indicates that these are the three most important components of a successful retirement.

Developing a sense of purpose keeps us motivated and energized.  Working with a group of people dedicated to a service or cause with which we agree gives a sense of fulfillment.  This dedication and sense of meaning can help over come some of the turbulence caused by the retirement transition.  Many people find an appropriately- chosen volunteer activity fulfills this need.

The motivation to volunteer stems from many different sources.  Some do it to carry on a family tradition or in response to a direct request.  But the most common most motivation is to do something that has meaning and purpose which positively affects our community, our world.  A well-suited volunteer activity needs to match three key areas for each individual: 

 .Talents

 .Areas of Satisfaction

 .Personality

Talents are the skills that enable you to make a meaningful contribution.  They also include areas for which you have a natural ability.  Think about your past training and the skill sets that you have developed through your life experiences.  Often it is useful to make a list of all of your talents.  Ms. Weiss also advises to "make sure that the organization you select will take you seriously and use your skills to best advantage."

Next you need to consider the types of activities that bring you satisfaction.  These activities are both related to work and life in general.  Consider things that you have enjoyed doing in the past or activities to which you always look forward.  Are there tasks that when you perform them, time seems to fly by?  Or activities that energize and fascinate you?  You should also consider what drives your satisfaction.  For example think about your need for recognition, involvement with helping others, degree of interaction with others, extent of intellectual challenge, and physical activities.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, consider your personality.  Are you outgoing and prefer to work in groups or are you contemplative and enjoy working by yourself?  Do you get your energy from being in a setting with a great deal of external stimulation or do you prefer a quiet, peaceful environment?  Do you like tasks that are organized and structured or do you enjoy adapting and keeping your options open?  Do you like to proceed at your own pace or are you more comfortable with established procedures?  Do you like to take charge and lead or do you prefer to support pre-defined goals? Answers to these types of questions and others can help you determine the volunteer setting that your personality will find most comfortable.

Many volunteer organizations are just beginning to grapple with the opportunities presented by the retiring baby boomers.  Community organizations have a tremendous opportunity to harness the time, energy and talents of the baby boom generation as they enter retirement.  Community organizations need to respond to the coming change in society's view of retirement changes from a period of disengagement to a time of energetic engagement.  Some organizations have already begun to address these needs.  Assistance in finding volunteer opportunities can be found at http://www.mynextphase.com/public/resources-links.php under Community -- Volunteering.