When chatting with the Digital Generation their communication style can be abrupt. Not intentionally rude they are simply being ‘direct’. So when I showed a group the global statistics on living longer they immediately ‘got it’ – as a generation they will live significantly longer than their parents and grandparents – ‘so what?’
Well, while none of us know exactly when we are going to die, if the odds say we are going to live longer than our parents and grandparents then we should plan for it – and I’m not talking about starting a pension!
When a whole generation plans for living longer there is little value in simply looking at our parent’s generation and saying our later lives will be like that. What we need to do is to find that sub-set of their generation who are already living longer and learn from them.
That’s what EML has been doing for over a decade and the lessons may surprise you. Here are the headlines:
- It’s not about the money – while have a certain amount of money is important we found many examples of wealthy people for whom all their riches could do nothing to improve their quality of life – its not about how much you have, but what you do with it.
- Success comes from starting early – some in our focus groups were reported by their peers as ‘doing a good job’ at managing their lives in old age. We found that these people had developed their skills much earlier in life and were doing what came naturally.
- It’s about how you respond – those reported as ‘doing a good job’ encountered just as many challenges as their peers, the difference was in how they reacted.
- Relationships were key – it was not about how many people they knew, just how hard they were prepared to work at these relationships. People who worked hard at ensuring other people had a good time almost always benefitted.
- Balance was essential – whether they were restrained or doing everything to the full successful octogenarians maintained a long term balance across key areas of life.
If you want to learn more call us on 020 3372 4062