When it comes to creating fulfilling careers, you’re advised to follow your passion, or do what you love. And yet, if in a post-Valentine’s Day mood, you find yourself reflecting on your 20- or 25-year marriage, you might note that passion isn’t the driving force it once was.

Taking stock, you might say the marriage works pretty well: the familiarity is comforting, the demands workable, mutual appreciation evident. But, the sizzle has mellowed into something else. How important are romance and passion, anyway? Whether it’s with a partner or with a career, where does the power to sustain a vital relationship come from at this point in life?

Let’s introduce the power of purpose. Dave Corbett, former executive recruiter and author of Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose and Passion After 50, writes about the radical shift we can make in our thinking, from retirement to recreation of a new manner of living and working. He points to the existential challenge that comes with increased longevity, namely to discover the deep sources of happiness, fulfillment and sense of purpose that we want our work to serve.

Having traveled and lectured on this topic around the country for several decades, Dave knows of men and women who work joyfully and purposefully into their 80’s and even 90’s. What deep vein of energy and dedication are these elders tapping? In his book, Dave offers his interpretation,

Once people are freed from looking to their careers to define who they are, often a characteristic of the early working years, they’re at liberty to turn their attention to what else is there? What other gifts and interests do I want to develop? What kind of legacy or imprint do I want to leave?

The process of self discovery and self expansion set in motion by seriously considering these questions may crystallize a new sense of purpose that inspires and sustains us beyond our ordinary expectations.

For we 50+ women, why not get a head start on discovering the Power of Purpose! Drafting a personal/professional mission statement is a useful way to begin to identify your purpose. Having in mind that this can be an evolving process, taking as long as is needed and changing as circumstances change, here are some suggested approaches.

1. Dedicate a half hour 3 times a week for two weeks to answering the question, What’s the ‘Why’ behind everything I do? Delve down below the surface as deeply as you can. Start with specific activities, if that’s helpful, and don’t worry about repetition. After building up a series of why’s behind a series of activities, see if you can decipher a single why behind all of them. In this way, you’ll be taken to a conclusion about your purpose based on your actions rather than trying to think your way to a conclusion.
2. Keep a running log of the things that bring you the greatest joy. According to Jack Canfield in The Success Principles, the things that bring you the greatest joy are the things that reflect your purpose.
3. More free-form than the previous two suggestions, set aside 15 minutes of quiet at the beginning of each day for two weeks. Ask yourself a question such as, What is my purpose here? Or What is my unique contribution? Or What is my calling? Having asked, open your channels to listen as receptively as possible to the intuitive information conveyed both in the words that come to you and the feelings aroused. Take notes, if you wish, during or after the 15-minute period.

A final word: Be prepared to be intimidated! In a certain sense you don’t get to choose your purpose, and you don’t get to vote on it. It is what it is. But also know that you have within you the power to live it. That’s a given! It may take a while to see how to live up to it, but you have the capacity.