At any age changing your behaviour can be a challenge. We become accustom to comfortable routines which perpetuate long past their intended purpose. Sometimes its what you do and sometimes its what you don’t. Talk to many octogenarians about taking a taxi and they look at you as if you are mad. One was seriously […]
Talking about death can be a catalyst for unusual discussions – and occasionally inspirational revelations. Some people are great planners putting considerable thought into their own demise while others, like one relative, a top class hoarder, simply shrugged and said ‘well, it won’t be my problem’. There are some that seek to exercise ‘intrusive control’ […]
When it comes to applying the research EML conducts, I like to be the guinea pig. When recommending anything to others there is little more powerful than saying you’ve done it yourself. Multiple visits to A&E with elderly relatives highlighted the need to know, and ideally be able to demonstrate, what was ‘normal’. Looking beyond […]
Long before I ran the world’s largest survey into changing attitudes towards later life I was already aware of the divide between ‘Old money’ and the rest of us. A good friend worked as a land agent advising ‘old money’ on running their estates and through him I gleaned an insight into a totally different […]
Today feels like it has been a good day and I’m wondering why? This is important because, if I can work out what has made it a good day, I can work towards ensuring I have them more often! There has been no one big event – if there had then it may have been […]
Many of us remember the Thomas books with great affection, either from our own childhood or by reading them to our children. The Fat Controller was the man in charge – not the evil ‘factory owner’, but an authority figure, the one who sorts it all out when things go wrong. At EML we encourage […]
Eighteen months after his coaching one of my early clients contacted me to say that some of his old anxieties and concerns were returning. We met and reviewed his plans and the answer was clear – most of the priority goal he had set for himself were either achieved or about to be! We went […]
The EML definition of Frail Old Age is less scientific then some… Frail Old Age begins when ‘whatever is going to get you in the end’ emerges. Over the last 50 years human life expectancy has increased by 50% yet that final stage – the run up to the end – remains between 1 to […]
One client recently visited by someone from the strategic planning team who was trying to look beyond the many immediate challenges and determine where they should be in 20 – 30 years. I was delighted, 25 years ago the inspirational leader of the financial services organisation I worked with did the same thing and the […]
Like many others I’m quietly horrified at the fourfold increase in my energy costs and pondering what I can do. Our wood burner, which until now has been for occasional use, may well be pressed into regular service as a major source of heat, particularly during cold snaps. I may also open up an old […]