About 4

More of us are getting older than ever before.

Born between 1946 and 1965, we grew up in boom times but are aging in hard times. The recession has messed with our financial planning, forcing many of us into unexpected early or semi retirement, and making others worry that we’ll have to soldier on with work until the bitter end. Instead of rejoicing at our longevity, there’s a new fear of living too long.

Even without worries about money, age brings its stresses: relating to adult children, caring for elderly parents, helping sick friends, mourning deaths. With all this compounded by our own insecurities about everything from fading looks and fitness to mortality.

Yet recent studies show positive aspects to this last part of our lives. Apparently the older we get, the happier we are. What’s more, we find our lives more worthwhile if we examine what we’re doing, have done and still want to do – and better still if we do this with others.

With so many so-called baby boomers nearing old age at the same time, we should be able to take advantage of our vast numbers and common experiences to support each other through the challenges of aging – as we discover and share its delights.

My New Old Self is an online space to talk about how we’re dealing with the changes brought by aging. Because of less work and fewer responsibilities as we age, we may have more time to reflect, and to enjoy what may yet prove to be the best years of our lives.

Are you trying to figure out what to do next – for the rest of your life? Let’s try and figure it out together. Comment on the blog posts and start a dialogue around this issue that affects us all.

You are also invited to join in the projects on this site. Maybe you’d like to figure out what to do next – for the rest of your life. If you have become technophobic in this youth-led digital age, we can try and tackle that fear together.

You can join others in addressing one of the common complaints against us as we age: endlessly complaining. You’re also welcome to join us in reaching out across the generations, to youth who are facing far more challenges than we ever did at their age.

And if you’ve been thinking of revisiting your past and writing your own life history, there’s a project to help you do that too – together, of course.

WHO

My Old Younger Self used to work long hours. Then came the economic downturn and there was less work and less pay. But somehow I was still working as hard as ever.

After awhile I began to wonder: how long am I going to keep on trying to draw the last drops of water from this well? At what cost? Can I manage to coast out the next few years until I can eventually see my underemployment as enforced semi-retirement? And is there something else I might do in the limited time I have left on this earth?

Could I try and find a new way of being in the world – for the rest of my life? I was scared, but I dared. That’s what I’m trying to do now. Shall we try together?