Do you intend to live over 100?
My pal recently confidently announced that she intended to live to be over 100.
I like that aiming strong is the starting point. These were words said with intention- the intention of taking responsibility for her destination, not simply being but creating a life that would give her the potential to live a healthy hundred years.
When we hit fifty, we can buy into the story that it’s all downhill from here, but what if it didn’t have to be that way?
In the West, we can live a long, healthy life with some input, which means exploring our health and investing in ourselves, such as our nutrition, sleep, exercise, connection and environment.
There’s an enormous amount of scientific progress in the field of preventing illnesses that we associate with ageing, which, as we talk, is becoming more accessible, but we’re not there yet, so meanwhile, we can do what is doable and in our control. 
Longevity;
I’m an avid listener of podcasts that discuss longevity with scientists from all over the world who are on the cusp of significant changes that could give humans options to live a long, healthy life.
A recent podcast discussed how the concept that long life creates a senior population who will suck the resources from everyone else is no longer valid. The scientific goal is to keep us all healthy so we can contribute in many ways.
We need to update our attitudes.
Since the recent pandemic, many people of whatever age have realised that traditionally, working all the time is not how they want to live. This attitude has contributed to the lack of workers. Many people in their fifties would like and need to work, yet they feel unwelcome for ageist reasons: too expensive, ill health, skills needing updating, and a host of traditional attitudes. All these so-called issues are solvable. Let’s start by sharing the work and reframing our ageist, out-of-date attitude.
Bonus Years
Returning from a holiday in Cambodia and Vietnam, I couldn’t help but reflect on the information from a guide while visiting a Buddhist monastery in Phnom Penh. Many women choose to be monks, as facilities for older people are limited in Cambodia. Living their last years in the comfort of a monastery where food and shelter are available is a sensible option.
The average lifespan for a woman in Cambodia is 74, 87 in Japan, and 83 in the UK, reminding us that this opportunity for a long life is only a futuristic dream for many. In the West, we already have the chance to live that dream where we can make choices, whether it is work, reinventing our professional lives, or achieving all the bucket list ideas.
What are you doing with your bonus years?
Invisibility or Reinvention?
Whilst menopause in the past indicated a slippery slope into invisibility, it can now mean a transition into a period of life that could be your best yet if you make that choice.
How many in the past had the same choice to use this wisdom?
Whether reinvention or rediscovery, aren’t we obliged to utilise this extra time? If you’ve never thought of reinventing yourself, an inspiring series in The Guardian’s A New Life After 60 proves there’s no limit to what you can try or do. Reinvention might mean your life or your thinking.
Reinventing yourself might mean more about discovering who you are now- who you are without the labels of parent, child, partner, employee, etc.
You have to choose to change.
Over fifty, I was in circumstances I hadn’t anticipated, meaning I had to make changes. I was one of those people who felt directionless; eventually, through personal development, I went on my reinvention journey. If you feel directionless, my reinvention planning sessions are for you. I’ll help you uncover what’s important to you and why, what’s stopping you, recognise your unique value, and know that many possibilities are available.
We’ve talked about how science is changing how we think about longevity. Although we don’t have all the information yet to slow the ageing process, we still have control over what we can do.
We discussed how attitudes need updating. What if we start with ourselves and change our attitude to that of my pal, where we will live to a 100?
In many countries, we have bonus years and can choose invisibility or reinvention.
The choice is in your hands.
So…….What will you do with your bonus years?
It’s up to you. You’ve got bonus years. What will you do with them? In the comments below, let me know one exciting thing you’d love to do with your extra years.