Looking back over the past financial year, the
challenges have arisen in droves. While we
can’t ignore the past, we should strive to not
be shackled by it.
By looking ahead, we can also invite others to
join us in planning to make the best of our
future. It might even encourage them to do
the same and we both benefit. Sharing a
journey is usually more fun anyway.
Why the kids? Of course, it’s the older kids
we’re talking about – the ones who may
become more involved in our future if we are
ourselves well beyond midlife and likely to live
well into our 80’s.
What lies ahead?
Our 2020 SHAPE update highlighted that
increases in life expectancies may be slowing
down, leading to a logjam of older people in
the community. It suggested we focus on
social connectedness and regular exercise.
Both these have been under pressure during
the pandemic but should be on our list.
Interacting with others
People have frequently remarked during the
pandemic of how much they missed
Interacting with others. We wrote this article
in 2019 to emphasise that this is a basic need
for a healthy life which becomes increasingly
important in the later stages of our life. We
offered advice on how to progress this.
A big revelation has been how quickly we
began to utilise the internet to connect with
each other once social distancing become
important. While this is clearly here to stay,
it’s clear that the personal contact is vital to
our wellbeing. Our future should include
seeking this out wherever we can.
Not feeling useful
When we wrote Not feeling useful, we
explored diverse opportunities that can
lead to positive outcomes for health,
greater self-sufficiency and longevity.
The article provides links to more
information on a rationale for continuing
work, an approach to volunteering and the
benefits of grandparenting, with some
suggestions on how pets could also
contribute to wellbeing
Mindset
Our recent Mindset article explained how a
growth mindset contributes to seeing the
opportunities in major changes in our lives.
Mindset differences show up in all ages. A
growth mindset is likely to be even more
valuable as we continue to make the most
of our future in the aftermath of the
changes wreaked by the pandemic.
Our own journey
The Longevity Plan process now available to
you is designed to support and guide your
own journey. However, as we age many
elements of planning for the future involve
cross-generational decisions and impacts.
By reminding you of these articles we hope
you will see the opportunities for
engagement with their ideas across
generations. Our Longevity Plan process
identifies and encourages this engagement,
and all the articles mentioned are available
with more than 50 others in supporting
your own Longevity Plan for the future.
