Instead of a “Midlife Crisis” have a “Late Life Renaissance”
Now’s your chance to do the truly satisfying things you always wanted to do
Eighty is the new forty. Vitality and longevity are being redefined and reformulated thanks to diet, exercise, and changes in attitude and outlook.
I recently joked with a friend who’s about my same age about the societal evolution of aging and agism.
“Back when we were kids,” I said. “A thirty-year-old seemed ancient, and a fifty-year-old might as well have been dead.”
“Don’t mean to rain on your parade,” he laughed. “But kids today feel exactly the same way.”
Touché! But my parade wasn’t moisturized, because I truly believe times have significantly changed, and for the better.
Mick Jagger turned 80 this July, and rockers from The Who to Def Leppard continue to fill stadiums.
Throughout society, people are entering David Bowie’s “Golden Years” singing, dancing, and reinventing themselves.
The entire model of “retirement” has also transformed, as have the definitions of “work” and “play”.
Instead of working to retire and then die, we’re learning how to play in work we love, and then keep living.
The pandemic had silver linings, including work-from-home as a new normal, and the re-evaluation of our core values.
Many of us discovered new ways to monetize our abilities, while setting new life style and standard of living expectations.
Our culture historically one of “killing ourselves to live,” we’ve learned how to reset our goals and expectations.
An old joke resonates, that of a retired Wall Street stock broker sitting next to a fisherman on a warf in Mexico.
“I worked my ass off for decades just so I could be down here relaxing like this,” says the former Master of the Universe.
“That sounds like a lot of work,” responds the fisherman. “I’ve been coming here every day of my life. Hola!”
Like that fisherman, many of us have discovered that the simplest things in life are the best things.
And the best things in life don’t require nearly as much work to attain as we were conditioned to believe.
Here are a few things I’ve discovered that have helped me transition from “working to live” to “living to love” my next phase of life:
Do more of what you enjoy…
Few things satisfy me more than creative writing, so I’ve made it a priority. That’s taken sacrifices in terms of time and money, but worth it.
“Do what you love, and the money will come…” True when you’re 20 or 60. The result is self-publishing my first book, check out the first chapters!
Embrace empty nester status…
My older son is a junior in college, my younger a senior in high school. Many parents are apprehensive about their children leaving home.
I say “bring it!” I’m not a perfect father, nobody is or can ever be. I’m proud of raising them, supporting them, trying to guide them. Time to go, guys.
Look forward not backward…
People are selfish, and as such they don’t care about you as much as you feel they should. The benefit of being on your own, is being on your own.
In other words, the only person with nagging regrets and doubts, is YOU. Set reasonable expectations of yourself, and enjoy each moment.
Remove toxic people…
When you’re young friends abound, because, frankly, we don’t know any better. With age we have less time to suffer fools badly, and narcissists.
The glory of aging into wisdom is the freedom to jettison decades of accrued flotsam and jestsam. Let it all go — let them all go.
Get out of survival mode…
Humans are programmed to dwell on the negative, perhaps a survival mechanism. Napping in a cave, we had to be alerted to the tiger.
Let the tiger attack. What’s the worst that can happen to you at this point? Take more risks, now that the stakes are — with such great relief — so low.
Indulge your hedonism…
Whatever you enjoy, do more of it. Balance is key, but I sense we’ve all underestimated how much we can and should satiate our pleasure centers.
Our society has programmed us to work, breed, and die. I instead suggest play, love, and live. Nobody’s keeping score but you. Sack the referee.
Exercise, exercise, exercise…
Cutting carbs and eating better are key, but there’s nothing like cardio burn. I make it a point of sweating like a swine for at least 90 min/day.
I need to suggest this again: Exercise, exercise, exercise! Nothing will keep you happier, younger, and more healthy in mind and body than the sweats.
Picasso advised to learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. Use your hunger and creativity to flip a midlife crisis into a late life renaissance!
