There’s a Longevity Revolution Brewing.  Are You Going to Be Part of It?

Do you get the impression that millennials still don’t seem to like us so much, we COVID-susceptible, creaky, white-haired relics?

The “OK Boomer” wave seems to have fizzled but there is still a bubbling resentment. No better demonstration of that than the virus-flaunting that’s taking place by the youngers at bars and beaches.

I suspect if I were to engage a group of millennials in a conversation about a “longevity revolution” in which we “geezers-in-progress” will be living even longer, it wouldn’t be welcomed news.

After all, their general narrative is that we are the big reason life can tilt toward miserable for a lot of them, right? Hoarding the wealth; setting the stage for planet destruction; not vacating the jobs they want/are entitled to; creating the technologies that have reduced their opportunities; creating police departments.

To which I say: “Heads up, whippersnapper!!  It’s gonna happen – let’s get in step together and team up!”

Who knows what is going to emerge from the economic COVID rubble. But one thing is unchangeable. Even with this microbe monster picking off the low-hanging fruit of co-morbid seniors, the 50+ demographic will remain one of the fastest-growing demographics in America.

There are 109 million of us over 50 in the U.S.  Boomers, who make up about 78 million of that, are now being joined in this 50+ group by the front edge of GenXers.

What to do with all us “geezers-in-progress?”

What if we started our own revolution, we prototype “geezers?”

A “longevity revolution.”

If there is some room for optimism in this pandemic, I’m thinking it may come from having the best minds across 150 countries focused on finding answers and that there will be serendipities galore as we gain a deeper understanding of how to protect our biology and extend our time on this mudball.

In other words, we could end up continuing to get even older for longer. We are already living, on average, about 10 years longer than we were a mere 50 years ago.

That possibility scares the s*** out of ageist politicians, corporations, and governments. And millennials. And those who fear aging.

But what if it means solutions to many of the ills that have beset us globally.

Now there’s a mindset with chalkboard/fingernail screechy dissonance! Geezers solving world problems? Really?

C’mon. You getting to 50 or 60 or 70 – or me to 78 – took some level of talent and moxie, right? OK, some luck, too. But, where does it say that it’s supposed to fizzle out at 65? Outdated models would have you to believe it, but don’t tell your body and mind that. They’ve both got a lot of fight left if we’re willing to put on the gloves.

Look, all of us pre-boomers, boomers and early GenXers have a choice. Just be older for longer taking up space and using up oxygen – or do something with this longevity bonus.

We can tack those extra years on the end and continue to cling to the 85-year old FDR model designed to send us to the sidelines to be “consumers supported by society.” Or we can be “producers adding to its strengths.”

I borrowed those words from Joseph F. Coughlin in his book “The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest-growing, Most Misunderstood Market.” I’m on board with Coughlin who says that the FDR-spawned concept of government-supported and sanctioned retirement seized upon by the insurance industry for the creation of leisure-based “golden years” is a “narrative whose time is done.”

The 20th-century idea that “the aged” are inherently unhealthy and uniformly incapable of economic production admittedly led to some important government programs e.g. Social Security, Medicare.

But now, in Coughlin’s words,

“- that narrative has become a liability. it has taken us as far as it can, but it is now holding back innovation in a way that’s proven hard for many to recognize, let alone solve. [The] invention that once served us well must be replaced.”

It’s encouraging to see that we are gradually rejecting the glamour of leisure-based retirement. With the artificial finish line established 85 years ago, we shoved people into a space with “- – no institutions or instructions for how to live, no economic production roles to differentiate one retiree from the next, and nothing to tell them what to do with their time.”

So we invented something – the “we” being insurance companies and the Del Webb’s of the world. The result? Legions of self-indulgent consumers sequestered in large luxury ”warehouses” with atrophying skills and talents, hanging with others with atrophying skills and talents.

No youth allowed to interfere with this planned early demise.

The revolution is starting. Join the fight.

The revolution against this has legs driven by demographics, changing attitudes, a drop in immigration, the changing retirement landscape, and the fact that companies will have no choice but to reconsider their positions on hiring or rehiring older workers.

What does a longevity revolutionary do? They start with a commitment to changing attitudes and undermining the rampant ageism in the marketplace.  Not with a sign on the street corner, or mob protests in the streets, or a book (with all due respect to Ashton Applewhite’s fantastic book on the subject), or some other form of a public rant but rather through an individual commitment to preparing for and engaging in the fight smarter and more effectively.

Here are ten things you can do to prepare and be a part of the “revolution”:

1. Protect your health. Get healthy, stay healthy. Become a student of your biology and what it needs to operate optimally and with renewed energy. (HINT: Start with an evaluation of your diet – bad diet is now the #1 cause of early death in the U.S., having surpassed smoking.)
2. Continue your education, never stop learning. Stay sharp. Keep up with the basic technology. Check out free/inexpensive resources like Senior Planet or One Day University.
3. Have a proud physical condition and presence. See #1. Be visibly in shape and sport a current wardrobe.
4. Be an active networker, building relationships outside of the old, tired inner circle. Take a millennial or two to lunch and LISTEN! No lectures allowed!!
5. Commit to a purpose and build your personal brand around it, using life’s accomplishments together with talents, and strengths. Don’t waste that first two-thirds of life!
6. Put yourself “out there.” Use social media -professionally, not just socially.
7. Add speaking skills. You’ve got a voice and lots to say.  Join Toastmasters and learn to speak, build confidence, and hang out with inspiring, positive people (most of them younger than you). It’s a “double-dip” environment.
8. Get rid of your ageist language. No more “aging is a bitch” or “aging isn’t for sissies” or “whassup, old-timer” or “you certainly don’t look your age” or “I just had a senior moment” or “you’re not retired yet?”
9. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to show up at the fitness center (when they return) and work on #1 above amongst the tattoos, tank tops, and lulu lemons.
10. Adopt a “Modern Elder” mindset and not a “Senior Citizen” mindset. See my 10/21/19 article on this movement here.

We can “whine and wait” for the industrial complex to come to their senses and start reconsidering the role of over-60 people in their organizations.  Or for that fistfight on the Potomac to find some chill and smart pills.  Or we can make it impossible for them to ignore us by how we prepare, present ourselves, speak out, and defend our space.

Viva la revolution!

Not ready to join a revolution? Then at least join our mailing list if you haven’t, at www.makeagingwork.com. And leave us a comment, below or at gary@makeagingwork.com. Stay safe.