Why people want to associate their dreams and aspirations with a film about the lives of two terminally ill cancer patients is beyond us. Yet that is what many people do.

Whilst virtually any movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson is good, and the aim of making sure you live as full a life as you can when faced with your own mortality is sound, using this as a guiding principle for your future does not seem at all sensible.

There are countless articles, books and websites dedicated to providing inspiration about what you might do with your time after retiring, whilst many of the adventures and escapes are likely to be unforgettable experiences, they are also unlikely to be the next thing to which you might devote yourself. They will only provide passing satisfaction and gratification, not long-term meaning and purpose.

It is essential for both our mental and physical health in retirement ( as at any time) to ensure we continue to have meaning and purpose in our lives. This is not something that you can leave until you are retired to start thinking about. In fact, it is crucial to make sure you are thinking and planning well ahead of time.

One of the crucial aspects of making retirement work for you is to have your financial plans properly arranged. To do this effectively you have to know where you are going, something that will need regular review and revision as both your views and circumstances will change over time.

It is not enough to assume that maximising tax allowances and making pension contributions will provide a happy later life. Retirement without money is grim, but retirement with only money is dim.

Ironically the more effective your planning for the future you want, the easier it will be to devise a financial plan to help underpin your goals. Money is only a tool, not an end in itself.

At Beyond R we are dedicated to helping people design the future they want. This starts with making sure you understand who and where you are now and takes you through steps to stimulate your imagination and occasionally provoke you into deep consideration as to what matters most to you.

Whether joining a workshop appeals to you or not, please be sure to work on your life not in it.