The Tipping Point to Disrupt Aging

March 11, 2016 by

aarp6

Living Boldly at Any Age

I just re-read Malcolm Gladwell’s groundbreaking book, The Tipping Point.  It was on all the bestsellers’ lists a decade ago and for good reason.  Gladwell breaks down how ideas, trends and messages spread like viruses with the help of a very small number of special groups known as Connectors (relationship brokers), Mavens (knowledge brokers) and Salespeople (persuaders with clout.)  It’s takes what he calls the “Law of the Few” for something to become contagious and claims 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.

Gladwell carries his contagion theory further, stating once an idea is spawned, the formula 80% (work) 20% (people) still applies, needing informal leadership and action from Innovators (Adventurers) and Early Adopters (Opinion Leaders). Then like wildfire, these ideas and trends spread to the masses, or as he calls them the Early and Late Majorities and Laggards.  

“The Tipping Point” makes sense to me, especially with cultural trends, which is where Disrupt Aging comes in.  This new book about living boldly at any age will be available in early April and I can’t wait to read it.  I forecast a groundswell movement to disrupt outdated stereotypes related to aging and I want to be both a Connector/Maven and an Innovator to help make this happen. And considering that 10,000 of us “retire” every day, we certainly have enough numbers and energy to power a movement.  The challenge is, we disown the “R” word and need to come up with another way to describe this next chapter, which has a lot more to do with creative living than retreating.  

So I am writing posts about it, creating and facilitating Re-Ignite groups, and working with clients as they embark on big life transitions, which I like to call The Second Spring of Life.  As we age and begin to consider what these extra 30 years can mean to us potentially, it seems to me that we have a huge opportunity never before seen in history.  AARP is part of this movement, with their campaign to Re-imagine life beyond 50.  Check it out.  We need Innovators and Early Adopters to spread the word and to role model that it’s cool to be older.  You in?

Filed Under: 60 is the new 60, baby boomers, disrupt aging, Fourishing, Life Transitions, Outliers and Technology, Reinvention, Well being Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

A Proactive Key to Prepare for Retirement

March 17, 2015 by

Key to RetirementIn my coaching practice and with the assessments I give, there is an influencing factor that helps clients succeed in their retirement planning and that is the idea of replacement. Think about it, work is much more than a paycheck for most of us. In addition to financial stability, work offers many other rewards like a natural cadence or rhythm to our day, a sense of utility, socialization and, of course, identity.

Once we begin to think about our life beyond work, there is the realization that to meaningfully fill all those hours, it takes some thoughtful analysis related to how we imagine ourselves and what is realistic to achieve our renewed version of “The Good Life”. It doesn’t happen on its own and it certainly isn’t one-size fits all. To get it right for you, it takes some personal reflection, conversations with your significant other or those in your life you trust to be sounding boards, as well as some practice to see if expectations are in line with reality.

I will give you an example. The other day I was going over the Retirement Success Profile with a client in his late 60’s. Once he took this assessment and saw his results he got to work figuring out how many free hours each day he would now have to pursue his interests, hobbies and volunteer work. He calculated 56 hours to parlay into each week and looked at how much time he would ideally like to spend on each activity. We laughed when I asked him where his wife fit into all of this, since he mentioned family as one category and gave it only 8 hours! The point is, he thought about replacements and calculated his numbers and this is his start. With two more years before he fully retires, this first draft schedule will no doubt be modified, but he is on his way to figuring out how to find purpose and meaning during retirement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Transitions Tagged With: , , , , , ,

“50 is the new 40”

October 13, 2014 by

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“Aging is not lost youth, but a stage of opportunity and strength” ~Betty Friedan

A few months ago I blogged about my views around the idea of “50 being the new 40” and how it bothered me that we, as a culture, were perpetuating this myth, disowning parts of our actual age and the natural benefits we draw from our years of life experience. I still stand behind this viewpoint, but after reading a section from “Passages”, originally published in 1976 by Gail Sheehy, I have a new appreciation for how the idea of pushing back the clock in the last few decades has some merit.

Read along to Sheehy’s words with me and see what you think: “The ‘I should’ of the twenties, which gives way to the “I want” of the thirties, becomes the “I must” of the forties.”  The author ends there, defining the decades, not even giving mention to the 50’s, other than by omission. Interesting exclusion to consider, as culturally in the 1970’s, people in their 50’s may have seemed oldish and well beyond the urgency of the “I musts” reaped from their 40’s. As I read this passage it seemed anachronistic and very much out of step with the way I perceive the battle cry of each decade. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 50 is the new 40, Life Chapters Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Midlife Crisis or Opportunity?

September 5, 2014 by

crisisIn my practice I focus on coaching clients who are in some form of a life transition. I think of transitions as opportunities to reintegrate all that we have already been with all that we have the capacity and desire to become. Often such transitions take place during midlife, when we naturally assess our lives, both personally and professionally, and consider how we want to spend the next half.

The challenge in our culture is many don’t want to think of themselves yet as being in the second half, or midlife.   I know when I turned 50 I heard over and over that it was really just the new 30. Then there’s that pesky word that often follows the word midlife and that’s crisis.

The Chinese symbol for the word “crisis” is a combination of two words: “opportunity” and “danger”.   It’s an intriguing duality and one that can be taken as an exciting challenge or something to be feared and avoided.

Why is this? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Transitions, Reinvention Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Transitions and Chapters in the Book of Life

August 2, 2014 by

 

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ~Anais Nin

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Before beginning my certification to become a professional and personal coach, I attended an intensive workshop called “Life Launch” at the Hudson Institute.   Here I learned about the continual cycle of life chapters and life transitions and how there are joys and challenges in each and the more dynamic your life is, the more cycles you will experience as you renew, reinvent or reintegrate.

Often coaches meet clients when they are feeling stuck, either disenchanted by the chapter they are in or feeling betwixt and between, uncertain what is next. These are signs that it is time for a change and even if you feel stuck, it is actually a dynamic stage.   There is a knowing that comes after cycling through a few, once you have felt the looming texture of what used to fit and no longer does; the idea that going through the motions isn’t enough to sustain the evolving you.

It can be both scary and exhilarating to leave behind the life you know for a new way of working or being in the world. As Goethe says, “The gods come to the aid of those who are bold.” I remember hearing this quote early on in my life and felt strengthened by it, using Goethe’s words as a muse to help me navigate a brave new world, feeling guided in ways I couldn’t explain. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Balance, Life Transitions Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Embracing the Fallow Times

June 23, 2014 by

 

“This capacity to linger in the unknown and see what happens is the passage to your creative self.” Gail McMeekin, 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women.

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When I am at my most intently aware, I look to nature to find examples that correlate with the human condition to help me to better understand it. The word “fallow” bubbled up for me the last time I was in a life transition. I thought about why this word felt meaningful and tried to understand its message.

Thinking of fallow, words like “empty”, “unproductive” and “vacant” come up. During times of transition when you are stuck somewhere between two somethings, it can feel very muddled and unclear. And, if you are like most, the desire to return to a sense of normalcy is high, where goals seem clear and you are once again aligned with purpose and direction. What I have come to understand about feeling fallow is that it is not what it appears. Often when I have felt this vague sense of unknowing, I later realize that much is going on under the surface. I equate it to sowing seeds (conceiving ideas), that are germinated and waiting to see which ones take root. It takes trust to patiently wait until something grows to the surface, becoming visible and real. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Life Transitions Tagged With: , , , ,