Longevity is giving us
more time for everything
Understanding what longevity means for you
Longevity is an opportunity, make good use of it.
Baby-boomers
The first generation to massively profit from longevity, you are tasked with reinventing ageing and retirement and creating positive role-models for the generations after yours. This will require ingenuity, adaptation and fighting ageism, including in yourselves.
Gen-Xs
Both you and your parents are likely to benefit from longevity. You will finalize the reinvention ageing and of retirement started by Baby-boomers and you will support your parents and older friends to embrace ageing. You will also help your Millennial and Gen-Z children and young friends to prepare for ageing well adopting the right habits. Not for nothing you have been called the “sandwich generation”.
Millennials and Gen-Zs
Longevity may be the last thing that is on your mind. Understandably, other preoccupations from climate change to paying your own rent may take center stage, but preparing for a good old age takes time and you have the opportunity to start early: knowing that you have a high chance of living to 100 years makes for a pretty compelling case.
On this website you will find support and guidance,
particularly on how to reinvent yourself and make the most
of the second half of your life.
Are you ready to realize your full potential?
Longevity is giving us more time to become who we were meant to be.
1.
Longevity has added more than 20 years to our life expectancy since 1950. Statistically, most of them will be in good health (and you can improve your outcomes following some simple guidelines).
2.
The number of years people lived after age 50 used to be a fraction of the first 50. This is no longer true: the second part of our lives has gained years and relevance.
3.
The second 50 years of people’s lives can be, for the most part, just as good, or even better, than the first. Unfortunately, that’s not what we have been told all along: the main narrative around ageing is decline, with its progressive reduction of possibilities and expectations. Retirement in particular, as the word implies, marks the official withdrawal from active participation to society.
This website tells a different and more empowering story about ageing.
The story is not science-fiction or wishful thinking, but it requires individuals to co-create it.
We can support you in doing that.
Age is not what it used to be
Are you ready for new-ageing?
Reframing 50+ and becoming a new-ager
In the 100-years-life, 50+ is characterized by growth, not decline. Of course, decline can happen, but most likely it won’t be the main characteristic of the second part of most of people’s lives. Longevity has added a new stage in our lives, right after adulthood and before old age. Let’s call it mature adulthood. It’s a stage with a lot of potential, but in need of ideas and model on how to live it because it is brand new.
Rather than grieving youth, new-agers welcome this new period of their lives and focus their efforts on making the most of it.
Triggered by their 50th birthday (which, anachronistically, retains some symbolism) or by retirement, many people go through a deep reflection on their own life story as well as on the meaning of life. This type of thinking can be difficult, even messy, but often results in the existential impetus that leads to reinvention and repurposing.
Reframing <50
One should start young to prepare for a good old age. There are at least three things you can do.
First and foremost, develop now a positive attitude towards ageing, don’t wait when you are old.This will help you consolidate an empoweriing view of ageing and will lead to bettwer relationships with the older generations.
Second, adopt healthy life-styles that we know for sure lead to better ageing.
Third, embrace the 4-quarters life mentality. This means that you have more time to do things: centenary lives leave more space for taking time off, for retraining, for pursuing interests and staying with family and friends. The 100-years life is not a race, but rather a stroll during which to savour moments which previous generations rushed through.
Age fluidity
Age was solid, now it’s liquid. What I mean is that age identity, which used to be fixed, normative and unescapable, has become flexible. A person’s age identity can vary depending on circumstances making an individual’s experience of their age dynamic. Moreover, many factors influence our experience of age making it subjective: social and cultural norms and expectations, our aspirations, our psychological flexibility, our interpersonal relationships, our professional and personal situation and our lifestyle choices.
Age fluidity challenges rigid chronological definitions and conventional age stereotypes. It promotes a more inclusive view of aging and allows us to express ourselves being the age we feel in the moment.
Living a 4-quarters life
The idea of a 4-quarters life, first coined by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, is simple: if we are going to live to 100, and increasingly in good health, it no longer makes sense to concentrate on the first two quarters of our lives.
Each quarter is different because we change and evolve, but the key point is that the last two quarters should not be a replica of Q2. We should embrace all of them and each with its distinct opportunities. To have a 4-quarters life means to live fully all our lives: looking at the road ahead and not in the rear mirror.
Here is how Avivah Wittenberg-Cox describes each quarter:
Q1.
The main focus is learning, exploration and growth (physical, relational intellectual).
Q2.
The main focus is proving oneself in the world, finding work, living independently, building relationships and families, careers and professions. Because there are other 2 quarters to be lived fully, there is less pressure on this quarter than in previous times.
Q3.
The main focus is becoming who we are, while we keep learning, growing, participating to society, working or whatever it is we will want do.
Q4.
The main focus is reaping what we’ve spent our life sowing. It may be a willingness to continue growing, it may be giving back or leaving a legacy, grandparenting and many other things.
Embracing career transitions after 50
Due to the acceleration of change, career transitions will become commonplace, well beyond age 50. We are not there yet and, once again, Babyboomers and Gen-Xers will to pave the road, learning-by-doing and experimenting.
The keys to successful shifts in career later in life are:
- Openness to new possibilities, even distant from one’s profession, throughout most of our lives. Rather than fixating with doing more of the same, this implies considering alternative ways of employing one’s experience and capabilities.
- Restartability, i.e. the capability of restarting with a positive attitude and of learning new skills.
- Having a supportive group of friends and colleagues who are open to change and positive. People who surround us influence our mood: those who instil self-doubt and are over-preoccupied by change can undermine our efforts (while they may think they are helping us).
Restarting in the second part of your life
There are many reasons that may trigger the need or the desire to restart in the second part of your life, the most common being retirement and empty-nesting.
Many people, however, have difficulty figuring out in which direction and how to restart. Often incorrect ideas creep-in: that it may not be worth the effort or (even worse) that career shifts and life changes are impossible in the second part of one’s life.
As much as I understand the difficulties that hinder restarting in the second 50 years, I believe that not doing so leads to many missed opportunities and to a huge waste of our collective potential energy of mature adults. For sure, it will leave those who succumb to inertia with many regrets.
I am also aware of the many prejudices and negative stereotypes that shamingly still surround ageing which can create barriers difficult to overcome.
Because I recognize all this and I have seen people around me struggle with restarting, I tried to concentrate everything that I thought could help them in our flagship workshop: The best 50 years: reinventing yourself and restarting in the second half of your life.
Life before longevity
Before longevity, life used to be a rush. Because there was much less time to live in good health, people needed to move quickly from one leg to another of the race.
No wonder they dreamed of resting after all that running (but always be careful what you wish for, even in the past, many got bored pretty quickly). In any case, because retirement was much shorter, most people invested less energy in thinking hard about the best way to spend it.
New retirement for the longevity era
In the era of the 100-years life, people will spend 20-30 years in retirement, may of which, statistically, will be in good health. That’s not an amount of time to take lightly. But there are other differences: people will get to retirement less rushed, having taken breaks from work to retrain or pursue other interests and having savoured more of their lives. The idea of resting will be less appealing. Moreover, people will have retrained and restarted many times in their life, so they will be more at ease with restarting in retirement.
So, where does this leave baby-boomers and Gen-Xers? Well, we are caught in the middle of a transition. The ideal retirement is evolving from a period of pure rest to a period of self-realization. We are not there yet and we have lived rushed lives, in the model of our parents, so many still crave time to do nothing other than what feels good in the moment. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this, but many of us want more.
Take a midlife MOT
In the UK (and many countries), most vehicles over three years old take an annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness aspects and exhaust emissions. A midlife MOT, is a check that everything is aligned in your life (I didn’t say perfect, the point is to make sure your actions and projects are aligned to your values and priorities). Why at midlife MOT and not yearly MOT, you could ask? In fact, I recommend to do it frequently, but for sure it’s a good preparation for the second half of your life, particularly if you intend to make it the best. If you were planning a long and interesting trip with your car, that you had been looking forward to for a long time, you would get the vehicle checked before starting, right? The idea is similar.
Finding your longevity Ikigai
The ikigai that got you here is not necessarily the best one for the second part of your life.
Your ikigai stands at the intersection of what you love (i.e. your passion), what you are good at (i.e. your profession, expertise, talent), what the world needs (i.e. mission, and what you can be paid for. So, what do I mean by longevity ikigai? It is the ikigai for the second half of our lives. Don’t assume that it’s the same you had in the first 50 years.
Why could longevity your ikigai be different? Two main reasons. To begin with, we have had the first half of our lives to know ourselves and to try things out. Second, we usually have less pressure to achieve certain goals, thus we have more freedom. Some people are lucky enough to be free from financial preoccupations (which typically you have at a younger age). This means that the fourth intersection, the one that requires to find something someone will pay for, can be removed or changes into a non-monetary payment (such as receiving expressions of gratitude). This all sounds good, but precisely because there are less signposts and constraints, it may be confusing.
Challenges of being > 50
Ageism is, unfortunately, a reality in many workplaces and in society. Countering it involves a combination of personal actions, of creating awareness and advocacy.
Fighting ageism
Here are some things you can do:
1.
Never stop learning: Stay current with macrotrends and with industry trends and technologies. Take courses, attend workshops, obtain new certifications. Engage in volunteer work to practice and build new skills. This not only helps the community but also demonstrates your ongoing contributions and vitality.Don’t allow anyone to tell you it’s too late for you to learn.
2.
Network: Maintain and expand professional networks. Engage with people from all generations to stay connected and informed. Participate in or, even better, organize activities that bring different generations together. Seek to build mutual understanding and share experiences with diverse people. Don’t discount the younger ones, but don’t discount yourself either.
3.
Focus on physical and mental health. Stay fit and active. This also helps counter stereotypes about ageing and demonstrate vitality.
4.
Emphasize the value of your experience and of the perspectives you bring to the table. Highlight achievements and contributions in your field.
5.
Underscore your adaptability: Show that you are willing to adapt to new technologies and methods and that you don’t fear change and new beginnings. This helps counteract stereotypes about older adults being resistant to whatever is new.
6.
Become a mentor: Offer to mentor younger colleagues and/or volunteer in your community to mentor youth. This showcases your expertise and also bridges generational gaps and fosters mutual respect.
7.
Advocate for age diversity: Promote the value of age diversity in the workplace. Share studies and examples that highlight the benefits of having a multi-generational workforce.
8.
Stay visible: Attend events, speak at conferences, write articles or blogs to be visible in your professional community and beyond.
9.
Stay relevant: What makes you professionally relevant is being up-to-date on new technologies and methods, staying current on debates in your field, being visible and being willing to share your experience and perspective.
10.
Challenge Stereotypes and Promote Positive Images of ageing: Educate others on the harmful effects of ageism and the value of age diversity. Respond to ageist comments or behaviours, respectfully and assertively. Never “leave-before-you-leave”: work with engagement, curiosity and willingness to learn till the last day. Become a role-model of ageing with gusto. Share stories and examples of successful older individuals in your field. Highlight the achievements of older professionals to counter negative stereotypes.
Age Friendly Certification
If you are over-50 and looking for a job you may be asking yourself where to find organizations who are open to hiring people your age and willing to make them feel fully included once they are on board.
To proactively signal their openness to senior workers, organizations may obtain the Age-friendly Employer certification. Issued by the Age Friendly Institute (represented in Italy by Learning Edge srl), this certification ensures that the organization meets the standards of age inclusion. In countries where seniors are actively recruited to contrast labor shortages, this certification is an employer branding tool that attracts applications from the 50+ dempographic. The benefit for senior workers is that it the certification, which must be renewed every 2 years, keeps the organization accountable for meeting age-inclusion standards.
Being age positive
Age positivity is a positive attitude towards aging. It also involves promoting the value of people of all ages, challenging stereotypes and celebrating ageing. Here’s how to improve your age positivity:
- Change your mindset about growing older. Ageing is not negative and diminishing, but rather positive (and not just because it is better than the alternative) and enriching.
- Manage how you are perceived by others. Unfortunately, pervasive ageism can distort how others see you. For this reason, it is particularly important to manage your image in order to make sure you are not attributed the negative stereotypes associated with age. Projecting energy, passion, interest in the world, desire to participate in society and to contribute to its improvement effectively conveys that you are age positive.
- Remind yourself of the many people who achieved important goals, restarted and reinvented themselves late in life. This will help you remember that you can accomplish yourself even later in life.
