Aging with Flexibility
Living longer may be extremely rewarding, or it can be fraught with danger. In The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in An Age of Longevity, Lynda Gratton and Andrew J. Scott address the evidence that humans in Western culture are living longer and describe how that fact reshapes the landscape of life and work. Their book describes the components that may help individuals thrive and live well with additional years and the changing nature of work. Gratton and Scott unpack the factors determining whether or not one will receive added years as a blessing or a curse. This blog will discuss two concepts from the book and consider their application in my own life and leadership.
The first concept is that of life stages. For approximately 120 years, life’s trajectory in the USA has been comprised of three linear stages: education, working, and retirement.[1] As people live longer, retiring at the traditional age of 65 does not make financial sense. However, work as drudgery until a delayed retirement is not appealing either. Embracing a more flexible view of life stages, such as “reskilling” oneself by adding new skill sets mid-working life can reinvent or reinvigorate a career path.
In deconstructing the three-stage life, the authors introduce new stages. One example is an ‘exploration’ stage, ideally, a phase of experimentation which can be a strategy for choosing one’s work well rather than being an excuse to delay the inevitable. [2] They also offer the term juvenescence as a “state of being youthful or growing young” and suggest benefits resulting lengthier adolescence.[3] These additional stages are examples of opportunities formed by the growing disconnect between the rigid boundaries of life stages with prescribed ages and allow for more creative and fulfilling work during the increased number of years available.
Before reading this book, I often failed to see the benefits of exploration and of delayed, or indirect career paths. This is particularly true of my children and younger people I have supervised who have a fifty-fifty chance of living to be 100. Now, I see opportunities to be more supportive and encouraging about the options that may lie ahead for them and feel less inclined to be judgmental.
While reading The 100-Year Life I took a self-guided tour through the concepts of tangible and intangible assets and evaluated where they currently stand for me. Both kinds of assets are needed to thrive in longer life, both during working life and in retirement years.
My tangible (financial) investments are in order and I can very thankfully check that off. The intangibles need more work. On the plus side, I have been investing in education, toward proficiency in areas of work that interest me. This transformational asset is aiding me in constructing my current work identity.[4] Education is having the added benefit of keeping my mind active, which according to the emerging idea of neoplasticity will contribute to a well-functioning brain should I be blessed with longevity.[5] I prioritize health: physical, mental, and spiritual. Even as I age, these intangibles are improving.
On the negative side of the balance sheet, I lack a robust friend community. The authors refer to this as “regenerative community.”[6] According to the authors, the best of these are multi-stranded (encompassing many facets of life) and require significant emotional investment. Usually, this type of relational network is developed in earlier years. Pushing past the challenges of growing deep friendships later in life will be worth it to provide increased satisfaction and vitality in the future. Increased self-awareness and access to the back-stage of my life are helping me make the necessary emotional investment. I am grateful to be dismantling my innate “Defender” strategy and opening doors to more relationships.[7]
I experienced a radical career shift when I recognized the call to full-time ministry at 43. Beginning ministry later in life has left me feeling pressured about not having enough time to fulfill the call. The idea of working longer, even into one’s 70s as normative is exciting! I feel hopeful and energized about the possibilities for Kingdom impact that remain open to me as I plan to push past the standard age of 65 for retirement.
The bottom line? Through thoughtful choices and planning, a 100-year life can be a blessing to self and an opportunity to bless the world.
[1] Lynda Gratton and Andrew J. Scott, The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity (London ; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, 2017), 2.
[2] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, 134.
[3] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, 129.
[4] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, 90.
[5] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, 83.
[6] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, 85.
[7] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership (The Undefended Leader Trilogy Book 1) (Carlisle, UK, 2007), 118.
About the Author
Julie O'Hara
14 responses to “Aging with Flexibility”
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Julie,
I like the way that you reframe the uncomittedness of this next generation. As you age past your current age (of 45 I’m guessing:) what ways might you try to improve on the intangible relationships? If you work past the age of 65 (twenty years out) what might you want to do?
Hi Adam,
Thanks for your comment and question and incredible generosity. This book really did help reframe what appears like ‘uncommitted’ and help me step back from comparing between my own children. I have been taking risks to better establish relationships – I am doing it at work, and with you all (remember what I said about speaking up :)…I am actually 56 – what I hope to do (and am beginning to do) is be someone who uses the privilege of my position within my organizational structure to amplify voices from the edges. I heard in Washington DC that you must be inside to make the changes.
Julie! Thanks for sharing! I too am looking forward God willing to the benefits of managing longevity. I am interested to know as you read this. What part spoke to your current context the most and what adjustments may you make as a result of this.
Hi Daren, My denomination is fairly small and it seems like there are intergenerational relationships that are very fulfilling to some people. These are the kinds of rich relationships I will have to take risk to develop. On the downside, it is hard for people who are very comfortable with each other and the way things have always been, to change. I do see that there is some benefit to being an insider with an outsider mentality. I believe that the most sustaining relationships I will develop in my current context will be with younger people – It may be that we are more like-minded.
Yes Julie! I love that you were doing some self-assessment going through this. Did you take the 100yearlife.com assessment? I found it even more helpful for processing where I am at.
As to cultivating friendship, may I share some of my history? Having served in pastoral life since I was 22, I would have to say that not being able to have genuine friendships with others is “an occupational hazard” in my faith tradition, because people keep their distance from someone whom they see as ‘spiritual’ or priestly (if they only knew my real humanity). I wonder about the changing dynamics in your Nazarene contexts that impacts this. Also, I was taught in my Undergraduate Pastoral Theology NOT to make friends in the congregation, because of this. It’s a good thing I was rebellious, because this very evening, I will get together with friends of 30+ years. As I moved to a National role, the majority of the vocational leaders / pastors I coached faced this isolation, not simply from their own equivalence to “Defender” mode, but also from the aforementioned hazard. Wherever the starting point, we can each grow our “constellation of developmental relationships that last for years” (Shirley Hoogstra).
To all this, I would simply offer you my encouragement that the way you’ve journeyed with me and the others in our peer group testifies to your “opening doors” statement. Keep up the good work.
This might be a side-bar or peer group followup question. What are some of the possible ways you are thinking about cultivating these deeper relationships?
Hi Joel, thanks for sharing some of your own story! Yes, much of that does resonate. I appreciate the Hoogstra quote. During my MDiv one of the professors talked about ‘spiritual friendships’. I did do the assessment and it highlighted relationships, so I brought into the blog with vulnerability. Just that is a step I am doing. Julie
Julie, thanks for a thorough description of the book and your personal analysis of your “balance sheet”. Was there anything you read in the book that concerned you or that leaves you with more questions than answers?
Hi Debbie,
thanks for your good question. I confess to being somewhat lost in the weeds with the various scenarios for the different aged imaginary people. I did more than an inspectional reading, but I did not do enough to get into those details. It would be interesting to try to see people I know in those details and have more insight to offer younger people.
Julie, I appreciate your reflections on the reading this week. What principle from this book do you see helping those leaders you coach?
Hi Chad – Honestly, it is the importance of trusted relationships at work. The authors refer to this as a “posse”. (p. 78). Part of my work the last year and half has been forming 46 peer-to-peer learning cohorts across the USA/Canada. They are regional cohorts and so meet by Zoom. They all just met face-to-face this week. (Not unlike what we do.) It was SO POWERFUL! Seeing and hearing about the impact on these pastor’s lives proves to me the value of the ‘posse’ idea. For some, the fact that they are not on the same district was actually helpful. Bottom line, I will be encouraging everyone to form a “posse” and will also be making introductions as I am able.
Hi Julie,
I always appreciate the vulnerability and openness of your blogs. I could empathize with your recognition of your need to ha ave healthy community. How have you been “dismantling [your] innate “Defender” strategy” to help build community?
Hi Kari, The thing that helps the most is to tell people that I am holding back and to ask for accountability to take risks. Another thing is to notice my own part in past relationship wreckage.
Julie
Hi, Julie, thank you for re-emphasizing the importance of the ‘regenerative community.’ I believe that’s one area that I needed to invest more of my time in. How would you suggest one start to introduce this idea in a way that is mutually beneficial to both parties?
Hi Noel,
Your question is very difficult for me. After thinking about it I came to the answer of prayer. I have praying that God will show me the people to invest in for purpose of the Gospel. I can also pray for God to reveal some regenerative community. Perhaps over time these could even be the same people?