FOGO vs LOGO – A Formula for Aging With Purpose
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
A month ago, I wrote about a new acronym that has emerged regarding aging: FOGO – Fear of Growing Old. Allow me to quote myself from the article:
“FOGO is rooted in time travel. By that I mean, traveling to and wallowing in the regrets and guilt of the past or casting into the future where fear is inevitable.
The most effective antidote to our sadness and mood issues is to take today and make something of it using our talents and accumulated skills and experiences to be of service to someone.
Then rinse and repeat.
Fear and regrets cannot exist in the present moment.”
Well, I’ve got another acronym for you to consider: LOGO.
I know – it’s already a word meaning “an identifying symbol” as in advertising.
How ’bout we commandeer it and adapt and adopt it into our thinking as we advance through this second half.
LOGO = Love Of Growing Old
Hey, I get it – that’s counterintuitive, countercultural, counterwhatever.
Who in their right mind would love growing old?
Hang with me for a few paragraphs and let’s see how it just might make sense.
The opposite of fear is – -?
What would you guess it to be? Courage? Braveness? Confidence? Heroism? Faith? Joy?
Nope. It’s LOVE.
The gospel according to Chandler
I said last week that I’m going to immerse myself with a select group of authors/coaches/books. Right now, I’m one with Steve Chandler’s “Time Warrior“ for the third time.
One of Chandler’s constant themes is that the opposite of fear is love and that all fear comes from contemplating the future.
It’s darn easy to tumble into the future as we age: achy knees and backs, observation of others who haven’t aged well, loss of loved ones or friends.
When we contemplate growing old, fear will make its appearance.
Can we love growing old? I agree with Chandler – we can. In his words:
“Love comes from present-moment service. If you are swept up in pure, creative service, you won’t know how old you are. You won’t care. Practice everything you want to be good at no matter what age you think you are. Whether things go ‘according to plan’ is far less important than who you become in the process. Practice taking on ‘problems’ as intriguing and amusing challenges that fire you up.
“How do you get good at playing your life? Practice now. Not in the future. It’s really the answer. It eliminates the whole growing old issue. You’re too swept up to worry about some number that our social convention of ‘aging’ tries to attach to your life.”
Life as a game – not a gauntlet.
Number 81 gets tagged to me next week. I’m getting better at letting it be more important to others than it is to me. Yeah, there are those moments when I ask, “How did I get here so fast?” I don’t know what 81 should feel like since I haven’t been here before but I sense that those around me feel I should be feeling different than I do. I guess they’ve got time to contemplate my future.
I don’t.
I have a choice. Make my aging a game or a gauntlet.
As I get better at living in the moment without too much on my mind, it’s easier to turn it into a game. A game with “24 little hours.”
I can find LOGO in those 24 hours.
If I stray from present-moment service and pull back from trying to create, I find myself in the gauntlet thinking about how old I am.
Game over.
This article came at just the right time. I plan to practice LOGO. Thank you for your inspiration and happy birthday next week.
Good One Gary! Being present is so important! Getting lost in the past or concerned about the future is hard to understand until you get present. & so hard to turn off all those 8 track tapes playing out all your worst moments over & over again. Or those wolf at the door visions of what might happen in the future. Thanks for writing about this.
I love your posts Gary, but this one really resonated with me. Keep going. Keep growing. Keep playing the game. The game is NOT over!
Awesome 👍🏾 inspirational uplifting, a Grand slam by none other than Gary Foster career champ 🏆 I’m working on it Gary got my gigs, enthusiasm and energy Gary feliz spring 😁 is here flex 💪🏾 your spirit.
Real good read. Making today count with a focus on being of service. Grateful for your upbeat but practical advice. Happy upcoming birthday, Gary!
Happy birthday, Gary!! It is just a number! This is a good one! I love your “LOGO” concept!! Thank you!!