Skills we should keep or drop 2

 As computerization continues formerly essential skills like switchboard operation or being a human calculator have perished.

With any change comes loss, and more than a few life skills society used to take for granted are falling by the wayside.

Continuing on the theme of what skills we should keep or drop, have you ever driven a stick shift? One of my first vehicles was a 49 Mercury Truck that had a stick shift and my wife drove a 59 Hillman Minx which also had a stick shift. We live in the city, and it became easier on the car to drive an automatic, but I miss driving a stick shift.

EPA data says that 35% of U.S. cars that were launched in the 1980 model year had manual transmissions. But, 40 years later, that number has dropped to about 1%.

With electric cars outselling those with manual transmissions in 2019, according to The New York Times, manuals may soon go the way of the dodo — at least in the States but that is a shame. A friend of mine has an electric car and it has power but for those who like the sound of power, revving the engine, dropping the clutch, and peeling out still have some appeal. With an electric car, you can still peel out, but there is no engine noise with it. I think the days of the stick shift are gone and will never come back, but I will miss those days.

Self-fulling prophecie

Retirement means you no longer want to, or can work. Retirement can be seen as a beginning to the end of a phase of life where you have been focused on your career and the start of a phase of life where the focus is given to free time and rest. To ensure that retirees maintain the quality of their life as before they plan for retirement but the first step in good retirement planning, is not financial planning but self-awareness.

Our past can indicate with high probability what we might do in the future. This means that many aspects of our personalities and behaviour will continue to function in retirement. A person's experience may shape our identity and adjust in order to achieve compatibility of identity and experience can contribute to a balanced identity over time.

Your view of life-based on your experience may allow you to see retirement as a process that will lead to a sense of emptiness, loneliness and a reduction in life satisfaction. Or your life experience and view of life could allow you to see retirement as a process that will lead to a sense of discovery, exciting new relationships and an increase in life satisfaction. Both views are self-fulling prophecies. If you believe the former it will come true, if you believe the latter, it will come true. Your understanding of your "self" and your self-awareness is important in which world view of retirement you take.

Difference between Canadian Boomers and American Boomerss

Americans and Canadians may share a common language, but we are different, and this may be because of our historical differences and what we believe are the most notable historical events that shaped us.

In the United States, many of the historical experiences cited by Baby Boomers were related to war and violent acts. For instance, Boomers in the United States identified two assassinations on their list—John F. Kennedy’s in 1963, and Martin Luther King’s in 1968. 

In Canada we named assassinations but they were lower on our list. In Canada, Sept 11 was not one of our top ten, nor was the tech revolution, the Fall of the Berlin wall, or the Iraq/Afghanistan war. The Americans did not include in their top ten, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, Woodstock and free love, Television and not surprisingly the Quebec Crisis and Bill 101.

Most Impactful Historic Events, Boomers (US Boomers) in order of importance

·        Sept. 11

·        JFK Assassination *

·        Vietnam War *

·        Obama election

·        Moon landing *

·        The tech revolution

·        Civil rights movement *

·        Fall of Berlin Wall/end of Cold War

·        MLK assassination *

·        Iraq/Afghanistan war

Most Impactful Historic Events Boomers (Canada Boomers) in order of importance

·        Civil Rights Movement  *

·        Cuban Missile Crisis

·        Assassination of JFK & Martin Luther King *

·        Vietnam War *

·        The Cold War

·        Neil Armstrong's moon landing *

·        Woodstock – Free Love

·        Television

·        Quebec Crisis and Bill 101

Based on the experience of life-defining events, each country developed attitudes and values that influence its identity and mindset. These attitudes and values impact workplace performance by influencing motivation, loyalty and teamwork. “Coming of age during key socio-historical event still influences how each country reacts and responds in the workplace – and subsequently, why they sometimes why we don’t understand one another”

41 Old Fashioned skills that Children need to know today

My cousin sent me this list via Facebook and I thought what an interesting idea that we as the older generation could tell our sons’ daughters and grandchildren how to do these things. By the way, many of the younger generation do these things very well, and I would say they do some of them better than my generations. Generation gaps exist, they always have, we were not understood by our parents, they were not understood by theirs and we certainly do not understand the next generation. To compensate we give wonderful advice, which is not needed.

For the first five skills listed, I have shown how easy it is to find out how to do them. I could do the above with all of the remaining skills that we or someone speaking for my generation believe our young people should learn. My point is that all of these skills can be learned online and learned very quickly.

We may not like it but we are moving to a need to know society. Each generation has to learn many skills to make us happy and productive, without a previous generation telling us what those skills should be. We did not like it when our parents told us what we should do, our children and our grandchildren will not either. They will ask us and learn from us when they are ready. Be patient and enjoy.

1.         How to write a letter

a. When was the last time you were asked to or did write an actual letter? I have not written an actual letter in a very long time, I have written many email messages and tweets and blog posts, but have not had the need to write a letter. If I needed to write a letter, I would just go to YourDictionary and do a search and find learn on how to do this task.

2.         How to make a phone call

a. This is an important skill and most children learn this before they learn to write, However in the event that a child did not know how to make a phone call, they could go to WikiHow and find at least three ways to make a phone call.

3.         How to take a message

a. This is another important skill and one that many seniors do not know how to do well, but a quick search of WikiHow and I could find out how to take a message with pictures.

4.         How to get to know an older person

a. Great skill, a quick search of Google gives us over one million, nine hundred thousand ways to do this.

5.         How to sew on a button

a. If you have to do this, then all you need to do is go to YouTube and do a search for How to sew on a button, which I did and found over 20 videos which had been uploaded in the past week

6.         How to play with a baby

7.         How to make a genuine apology

8.         How to read slowly

9.         How to hammer a nail

10.     How to shake hands

11.     How to introduce themselves

12.     How to take notice of the needs around you

13.     How to make scrambled eggs

14.     Hoe to balance a chequebook

15.     How to see a job through to completion

16.     How to write a thank-you note

17.     How to do laundry

18.     How to take care of a garden

19.     How to fix something instead of replacing it

20.     How to plan a healthy meal

21.     How to hand a picture

22.     How to wash dishes

23.     How to make a budget

24.     How to wait and save for something

25.     How t check tire pressure

26.     How to ask questions to get to know someone better

27.     How to read a map

28.     How to find a book in the library

29.     How to and when to seek counsel from someone more experienced

30.     How to care for a pet

31.     How to select a gift that the receiver will appreciate

32.     How to admit a mistake

33.     How to set the table

34.     How to iron a shirt

35.     How to give someone the benefit of the doubt

36.     How to weigh out the pros and cons of a decision

37.     How to have good table manners

38.     How to read a recipe

39.     How to attend a concert or a performance

40.     How to do something well even id no one is watching

41.     How to be kind.

Retirement Protests, an idea by Caree Risover

Because of the tragedy in New Zealand and the role, social media played in spreading the video of the event. Many of us are upset. In her post of March 15, Caree, over at "A Retirement Blog" talks about her concerns about the use of social media and makes some very good points. I agree with her statement:

"Fanatical and populist ideology posted by dubious sources and shared across newsfeeds worldwide has become so mainstream that people I might previously have considered to be critical thinkers now seem to repeat and repost without any obvious moral compass. They fail to hear or seek to comprehend that there is a valid argument against the stance that they promulgate. Where has reasoned and reasonable debate gone? I can offer an answer for that one: it has been buried in the adoption of subconscious Orwellian mantras like "the will of the people," "strong and stable," "no deal is better than a bad deal," or "make America great again."

She goes on to say, "I know protesting seemed simpler when you could turn up at Greenham Common with a tent and wire-clippers but how many of us have actually chained ourselves to railings recently? Planet Retirement is the perfect battleground to take the fight to the doors of commercial interests and large corporations. Boycotting remains a powerful tool as does complaining, giving bad (but honest) publicity and lobbying your MP.

Today I have absented myself from my Facebook account whilst contemplating its deletion. With over two billion active users monthly, imagine if only half its users did likewise. Ten percent of its current subscribers are apparently over 65; the deletion of two hundred million accounts isn't going to happen, but it would be some protest if it did!

Boomers were not the first generation to protest, but we did work hard at it in our youth. Over time I think got complacent and lazy. We believed we had won the battles that were important to us. We believed we stopped the war in Vietnam, we believed we had created a more open and forgiving society. We believed we had reduced, and some of us in our naively believed, we had overcome prejudice about race, sex, gender. Of course, none of that is true, but we believed it to be true. There may have been some movement in all of these areas, but not enough. 

Through social media sites, today those who hate, find each other and thrive in their own little worlds, and the rest of us ignore them or tolerate them and their views.  Our parents fought against the rise of the right-wing hate that is with us today, we lived in a time when we thought we knew the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. We were wrong, the bad guys were always there but they were underground and hidden in their own tiny frightened world.

In the day of the 24-hour news cycle, the agencies we used to trust to give us the facts, give us innuendo and rumour disguised as facts. In the "mainstream media" reporters, editors fearing for their jobs, latch on to the latest outrageous event, embellish it and attempt to grab our ever-shortening attention span. 

Over a period of time, the outrageous becomes the norm, the fringe becomes acceptable and the bad guys crawl out of their hidden worlds and creep into the mainstream through social media. We ignore them and we go on with our lives. I agree with Caree, we need to take a break from social media to gain back a sense of our understanding of humanity. By taking a break we can, I think, begin to move back to a time when we would not accept the fringe as the norm. 

So I ask you to do what Caree and I are doing which is taking a break from Facebook. Boycotting remains a powerful tool as does complaining, giving bad (but honest) publicity and lobbying your elected representative.

Meditation for a Richer Life

At the workshop on “How to get a good night sleep,” we were discussing how to calm your mind to help you sleep. A number of the participants talked about how they use meditation to help them. Meditation became part of the vernacular of lifestyle choices and a source of a lot of conversation as far back as the 60s when there was a big interest in eastern religions and for us boomers, all things eastern were exotic and new.  But while many of the flash in the pan interests in exotic religions during that time frame faded away, meditation has endured and become a common practice and resource that has benefited us in every decade of our lives.

There is a good reason meditation has endured and even grown in popularity.  Meditation has tremendous benefits for virtually every aspect of life and those who integrate it into their daily lifestyles can experience those benefits virtually as soon as they start.  You don’t have to be a guru at meditation to realize that it may have other benefits than helping a person get a good night’s sleep. Benefits can occur for an individual from the very first time they try. Some of those benefits include:

·       Meditation is calming.  Because the act of meditation calls for you to bring your thoughts into captivity and to still your mind and focus it, that sense of your soul is in turmoil eases and you are able to address the cause of your anxiety and see a solution more clearly because your emotions are not clouding the issue.

·       Meditation helps you focus and concentrate.  The great thing about meditation is that the effects of meditation continue past those few moments when you are meditating.  Those few moments of calm create an atmosphere of focus and clarity of thought that goes on throughout your day helping you focus your mind and more easily concentrate when you need to.

·       Meditation reduces stress and mental anxiety.  So often the stress that comes out of problems and difficulties is dominated by emotional reactions even more than by the problem itself.  Meditation clears away the effects of the stress making it easier for you to solve the problem itself.

·       Meditation helps reduce physical anxiety.  The process of meditation involves extended periods of quiet deep breathing.  This simple action floods the brain with oxygen and energizes blood flow throughout the body which refreshes tired muscles and causes your entire physical system to relax and release pent-up anxiety.

·       Meditation helps you sleep and digest your food.  The refreshed blood flow, rich in oxygen that comes from the session of meditation, takes action immediately on the digestive system often reducing or eliminating digestive problems and even easing the symptoms of ulcers.  Because the mind is relaxed and well supplied with vital oxygen and blood flow, sleep comes more easily and is more recuperative.

Some successful role models in all walks of life that come out of our generation credit meditation to why they are able to accomplish such great things.  In addition to all of these benefits, meditation is easy to integrate into your lifestyle and you can go at your own pace learning to become better at meditation and grow in your ability to use it.

Meditation is easy to do.  The image of a meditation practitioner in painful “lotus position” going into a virtual trance is the extreme of the discipline.  Because meditation has been adapted so that any of us can benefit from the health benefits it brings, you can begin meditating immediately and see the benefits from the very first session.

Small wonder many of us have continued down through the decades to be enthusiastic proponents of meditation.  And there is no reason we cannot continue to enjoy the tremendous benefits as we move into our retirement years.

Looking Young and Feeling Young

We may not have a corner on the market for an urgent desire to stay youthful but we certainly have set a high standard for creating a virtual avalanche of products and services to attend to that need.  The quest to look young in my age group has resulted in an explosion of profits in the cosmetic and plastic surgery markets.  It’s easy to criticize our desire to want to see ourselves as youthful as simple vanity.  But it goes a lot deeper than that.

It doesn’t take a lot of research or analysis to see that my generation rounded our identities in the youth movement of the 1960s and 1970s.  Before we erupted like a generational volcano, there really was no youth movement.  But in the 1960s, when youth culture virtually took over American and indeed world culture, everything changed and that change was never really reversed. 

The culture of that time that now seems very long ago, was one of the adorations of youth.  That desire to put an age on a pedestal and worship everything about being young has permeated the culture even as we moved into middle age and is now creating the largest retirement generation ever. 

Not all of the youth worship that is easy to document in some of my age group it is just about looking sexy and dreading the physical changes of growing older.  Some of us believe the concept of youth has to do with the idealism and the commitment to causes.  The desire to change the world and to be a force to make mankind better was part of what made the new youth culture in the 1960s so unique.  Because those values are laudable, we really can’t completely condemn the desire by some of us to stay youthful and committed to those ideals.

So, the quest to stay young often manifests itself in cosmetic attempts to look young.  You can almost understand the appeal.  We all like to look good.  But the real source of youth is not in tight butts and abs and smooth, wrinkle-free skin.  The phrase “you are as young as you feel” is often scoffed.  For some, this can be used to have an excuse to behave younger than you are and perhaps socialize with younger people in an inappropriate way. However, it can also reflect that an inner youthfulness which is fueled by a youthful outlook on life and a basic policy of good health and exercise will keep anyone spy and vital.

It is when we combine those elements of “inner youthfulness’ with their cosmetic efforts to stay young that we really do retain much of our youth beyond what their years would report.   We all have met an elderly man or woman who is so full of life and fun that they leave you feeling older than they are.  The sparkle in the eye, the curiosity about everything life has to offer and that optimism and idealism that you ordinarily associate with teenagers are truly inspiring when it is being expressed by a boomer.

This is the real youth movement that we are pioneering.  It is more than dying the hair or using Botox and wrinkle creams.  It is about being strong role models to the youth so they don‘t give up on their dreams and that their idealism and excitement in living can thrive no matter what age they are.  And if that is the legacy of our generation, it’s a fine ethic for us to leave behind for future generations to enjoy.

Fighting Loneliness

When you are raising your kids in your adult years, it seems you will never know a minute’s peace.  Each day was another explosion of yelling, running and wild activity in the house from the moment the kids are born until they are grown and moving out.  It was when the last one finally made their way into the world that you actually knew what was to be alone, at least the two of you. 

A full life such as this makes the adjustment to senior citizen status, retirement and the time you may spend alone and with time on your hands a bit of an adjustment.  The adjustment is even more profound if you enter your senior years alone and you find yourself alone much of the time.  The problem of loneliness is chronic in senior citizens so it’s good to get out ahead of it so it doesn’t cause serious problems the longer it goes on.

The negatives of loneliness in senior citizens are well known.  Excessive loneliness can easily lead to a sense of isolation, desperation, and depression.  This can result in substance abuse or worse if the senior citizen doesn’t find a way to fight back against that feeling of being alone.  It is easy if you are in your house that used to be filled with children to feel abandoned and resentful when your day passes with no human contact.  If you have relocated to an assisted living center or nursing home, the problem may be even worse as you don’t have the comfort of familiar surroundings.  

But to feel sorry for your self and blame your children for not coming to see you is not a healthy way to fight this enemy.  Yes, your children should call or come see you more often.  But short of moving in with you or you with them, the problem of loneliness will have to be solved by you and using other means.  It may seem like a simplistic answer to loneliness but the beginning of solving these problems is a simple prescription which is – Get Out of the House!

If waiting in your house or apartment for people to bring companionship to you has not worked so far, it probably isn’t going to.  So you have to get out there and engage life directly.  If you can become proactive and take command of the situation, you will find the opportunities to find friendship and companionship are diverse and abundant.  Among some of the ways, you can get in the company of other people are…

.   Senior citizen functions.  If you are in an assisted living or retirement home, there are events being planned all the time for you to get out and meet your neighbors.  But even if that is not your living arrangements, most local communities have senior centers that have as one of their primary missions in life to provide a social outlet for senior citizens.  So use that resource to its fullest.

.   Volunteering.  There are so many excellent ways for you to volunteer at church, with civic groups or in the arts that you can stay continuously busy.  Not only do you get the gratification of doing something good for others, you get out and meet people which is a sure cure for loneliness.

.   Church.  If you are active in your church, they always have ways for you to be involved during the day.  Some of them will be volunteer opportunities but others might just be attending a good bible study or social time with your Sunday School class.

.   Pitch in with the grandkids.  This is a wonderful way to get out.  You love those grandkids and by giving your children a way to get out and leave them in a trusted place, you do them good and get tons of great play time with those sweet children.

These are just a few great ways for you to get out and meet people who will welcome you with open arms.  These are areas of life that are eager for an enthusiastic Grandma or Grandpa to jump in feet first and get involved.  Getting involved means staying busy and staying busy means never feeling lonely again. And that is the permanent cure for loneliness.

Serendipity

I was downtown, charged with getting Sushi for my wife’s contribution to the pot-luck the theater was having for the last night of the play Calendar Girls. My wife had been in charge of getting and creating props for the show and during the show as the Assistant Stage Manager. As I left the restaurant, I heard some singing and music coming from Leigh Square, which is just down the block. As I believe in Serendipity I wandered over to the square.

A band with three wonderful singers was playing some old-fashioned Christmas songs and there were a number of booths. One of the booths was from the City and as I talked to the young person in the booth, another lady there asked if I wanted a hot chocolate. So, I said yes, and asked what was going on at the square. She explained it was the second and last day of an event called Christmas in Leigh Square. 

Inside the building, there were many artesian booths with great ideas for Christmas gifts. Booths were set up to sell, scarves, perfumes, local wine, craft beer, stocking stuffers, Christmas sweaters and other home-made crafts. Everyone was having a good time and there were a lot of people passing through the stalls.

At one of the stalls, I noticed some posters that were definitely from the 1960’s. I stopped to look and the person manning the booth began to talk to me. He told me that he had been a music promoter in the 1960’s in Vancouver and had been asked to write a book about his experiences. He asked me if I had been around Vancouver in the 60’s and I said yes, I had been at SFU during this time and when I was on Student’s Council I was involved in booking Acts for the theater.  

We talked for a while about how he had booked “Country Joe and the Fish” at SFU. He asked if I had been to any of the Be in’s in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, specifically the one with the Country Joe. I had been and we talked about that and other things.

 I thought to myself, it is a small world as he and I had known many of the same people back then, but I did not remember running into him nor did he remember running into me.

Another man joined us and he was a sound engineer and had worked in many of the top recording studios in Vancouver. So, we talked about old times in Vancouver in the 60’s for about 15 minutes and I realized that I needed to get the Sushi back so my wife could get to the theater on time. 

 The man I met was Jerry Kurz and his book is called The Afterthought: West Coast Rock Posters and Recollections from the '60s I highly recommend the book especially if you survived the 60’s in Canada or the West Coast of the United States or you want to know what it was like in the 60's on the West Coast of Canada.

Attach to your dreams

When your dreams or "end results" are stated generally, in broad brush strokes, like wealth and abundance, friends and laughter, health and harmony, then please, by all means, attach yourself to them. Attach, attach, attach. There is no limit to what you can have and no reason to expect anything less. 

But when your end results are specific, like the ultimate car, a hot date, or a home in the country, do not attach, do not attach, do not attach. 

Material details and specifics are always "how" to get to a grander picture of your life and are never important in and of themselves. They're "cursed hows" disguised as end results. Steps disguised as destinations. By all means, think of them, put them in your scrapbook or on your vision board to remind yourself of the kind of possessions and adventures that are your birthright. But do not give them any importance, through attachment, greater than what you are truly after a fuller, richer life with all cups running over, the details of which will take care of themselves when this is your end result. 

Oh, what a relief it is

Thanks to Ronnie over at As Time Goes By for this idea.
In one of her recent posts, she said: "Just about every day I get an email or two promising to show me how I can increase my income by growing my blog audience on Twitter or Facebook."

When I started writing my blog in 2010, I was writing for my grandson, who I hope one day will read this and begin to understand what his grandfather was like, what I thought, what I valued and what I stood for at this time. Over time, the readership started to grow, little by little more and more people were finding my words and were reading them. I have a small reading when compared to many others for which I am glad. Every now and then I will get the same email as Ronnie did or I will get a phone call from a website writer who wants me to become an "influencer"--whatever that is. I listen to them and then send them any information they would like to have, and then I don't hear back. The young are looking for others who will influence the young. My audience is not young, not old mind you, but not in the demographics the advertisers want to reach.

When I have talked to my friends about this, they laugh and wonder why I don't take advantage of this world. I always respond with "My goal was never to make money on my blog, it was to reach my grandson, and others who like what I write, and stick around, that is great, but I won't take advantage of them by writing about or for specific products"

Oh, what a relief it is to not be bothered by the need for recognition or for money that I had when I was younger. I write every day about things that I enjoy, find interesting or strange and I am just happy that one or tow people find the time to read and every now and then give me feedback. 

I recently found a new social media platform/website called Beebee, that has huge interest and followers. I have taken to writing on this platform and find it to be very rewarding. The posts I have read on this site are interesting, the people engaged and the site is growing. If you are interested here is a link to my site on Beebee.

It is hard to get angry

It sure is hard to get really angry at someone, when you can think of all the reasons you love them. 

Looking back

When we retire, we have a longer road behind us than in front of us. When driving down the road of life rarely do you know how good you have it, until you see it in the rear-view mirror. 

Which is not to suggest that you should look back now, but to remind you that where you are today is more awesome and amazing than you probably realise. Live in the moment, but realise that the past has brought you to this moment, so cherish your journey and look forward to many more twists and turns in the road before the end of the journey.

Boomers bounce back

In 2011, the first of the Boomer Generation reached the grand old age of 65 and in 2016 we hit 70. 

Boomers have been an energetic, creative, ambitious and restless generation and now with the financial downturn, created in great part by this energetic, creative, ambitious and restless group, it appears that many of the Boomers will have to continue being energetic, creative, ambitious and restless for many years longer than they may have anticipated. Many of us are enjoying full retirement, but many of us are still working part time and contributing to the economy, because Boomers Bounce Back!

Given the tools, we have risen to the challenge of our new career of retirement. Over the last five years, the majority of Boomer have solved his/her own retirement finances and continue to contribute significantly to improving the economy. The fear was that we would become reliant on government handouts, while that has not happened to the majority of Boomers. We continue to stimulate the economy with their own success.

One of the ways we have done this is through our creativity and problem-solving abilities Here is an interesting thought: Step back and imagine yourself looking down upon the World from several thousand feet.

On the surface of the planet, you see over billions of little humans all over the globe, all scrabbling around trying to make a living, and you are trying to compete with everyone of them. As you draw up your plan, factor in originality and creativity, think about the following:

·       What can you create that will separate you from the other billions of humans?

·       What can you conceive that will allow you to be the ant that will glow and be visible from several thousand feet?

·       What can you imagine that will separate you from the crowd?

·       What can you create that others will want or need or will help them?

Boomers have always been able to find a new niche, study it and then fill it and we will continue to do this albeit a bit slower  than we did when we were younger, but with the same passion. 

Task No. 6: Determining the Meaning of One’s Life Jung

My uncle passed recently as did my mother-in-law, and at my age I realize that I am faced with more of my peers dying. We are born, we live, we die. Nature is consistent in this fact: 100% of us die. 

 Jung said that:“Life meaning among the young is framed by styles of appearance, language, material acquisitions, and social affiliations in the quest for a solid footing in the external world...

“However, the search for life meaning undergoes a major shift in the second half of life. Whatever people’s material success, many find less and less meaning from “things.” So, they begin to look inward rather than to the outer world in their search for life meaning.”

We  don’t know how long we have on this planet, but we do know this, we exist on this earth for some undetermined period of time. During that time we do things. Some of these things are important. Some of them are unimportant. And those important things give our lives meaning and happiness.

Humans are storytellers, we seek out patterns, we look for a narrative so it is reasonable to ask “What should I do with my life?” or “What is my life purpose?” Jung address this in his sixth task of aging, although many ask the question of themselves when they were younger.

However, we all have a tendency to lose touch with what we thought, loved and asked ourselves when we were a child. Something about the social pressures of adolescence and professional pressures of young adulthood squeezes the passion out of us. We’re taught that the only reason to do something is if we’re somehow rewarded for it.

Life has meaning for us when we discover what we are passionate about. One way to do this is to think about what you would do, if there were no useless websites, no Facebook, no video games, no TV, where would you go and what would you do?

Would you sign up for a dance class? Join a book club? Go get another degree? Invent a new form of irrigation system that can save the thousands of children’s lives in rural Africa? Learn to hang glide?

Maybe, you will do some of these, maybe not, what we are asking is: “What can you do with your time that is important? You define important, and when you do, you are in fact deciding what your legacy will be when you finally die.

So what is your legacy going to be? What are the stories people are going to tell when you’re gone? What is your obituary going to say? Is there anything to say at all? If not, what would you like it to say? Why and how can you start working towards being the person; you want  to be remembered as today?

When people feel like they have no sense of direction, no purpose in their life, it’s because they don’t know what’s important to them, they don’t know what their values are.

And when you don’t know what your values are, then you’re essentially taking on other people’s values and living other people’s priorities instead of your own.

Discovering one’s “purpose” in life essentially boils down to finding those one or two things that are bigger than yourself, and bigger than those around you.

And to find them you must get off your couch and act, and take the time to think beyond yourself, to think greater than yourself, and paradoxically, to imagine a world without yourself. As we age we are moving closer to that world, so my advice is to act now.