How to live better now we’re living longer
How to live better now we’re living longer
Our life expectancies are growing. It’s likely we’ll all live much longer, and we want those years to be good years. So what do we need to know?
A quick note today - saving the juicy stuff for Tuesday’s big newsletter!
This weekend’s article in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today is below, and it’s all about living our longer lives better and practically, what I think we all need to be concerned with.
It pairs up with a wonderful interview I did on the Prime Time podcast this week with Dr Andrew J Scott, one of the world leaders in longevity and a professor of economics at London Business School. Totally worth a listen.
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Have a lovely Sunday! Make it epic!
Many thanks! Bec Wilson
Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker
How to live better now we’re living longer
This article was first published in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today.
Longevity has become a buzzword that’s almost as hot as sustainability and AI in some circles – and it’s not just about old age.
Our life expectancies are growing. It’s likely we’ll all live much longer, and we want those years to be good years. This means we need to change the way we live long before we reach old age so we can enjoy a better quality of life.
The science of modern ageing already tells us that we can slow the march of time simply by looking after our bodies, minds and communities better. And then, if we do that, we have to look after our money, our work, our sense of purpose and our relationships better too. Because living longer is only worthwhile if we can enjoy it.
This week, I did a podcast with Dr Andrew J. Scott, international bestselling author of The 100-Year Life and his new book, The Longevity Imperative. He says today’s over-50s should expect to live well into their nineties, possibly even to 100, and young people could see a life as long as 120 years.
The question then becomes, how do we make these years good quality years? None of us want to live the last 20 or 30 years of life lonely, in poor health and without a sense of purpose.
There are a few things we have to start working on more actively if we want longevity. We have to push society’s norms too. But what should we do first?
Think about future-you
The very first thing you can do is start to think about your longer life. Imagine the person you want to be in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s and reverse out the things you’ll need to do today to become that.
Thanks to the media’s dislike of ageing, we haven’t got enough mature, dynamic role models, so we have to use our imaginations to think about the physicality we hope our bodies will have, the financial security we want, and the sense of purpose and belonging we will enjoy.
Then, we have to take responsibility. Stop telling yourself that the medical system, health insurers, superannuation, and retirement companies will look after you. You have to look after yourself in a world where we live longer than ever before!
They’re just the service providers you’ll pay along the way. I hate to say it, but it’s your responsibility to learn about how to do longer life well.
Take compound investing and superannuation much more seriously
The government created the compulsory superannuation system 32 years ago, but it’s up to each individual to really reap its power or even to turbocharge it. It’s designed to encourage you (and force you) to save money for your future and allow it to grow over a lifetime if invested well.
And, if you really grasp and embrace the power of compound investing via superannuation early, or even in midlife, while you can still work, save and invest actively, I can almost guarantee you that you won’t have to worry about money later in life, even if you live to 100 or 120.
To achieve that, you need to open your superannuation dashboard, learn how it works and make sure you use its powers. Be selfish about your own financial future.
Recognise the changing role of work in the second half of your life
The end game is not ‘retirement’ any more. It’s reaching the point of choice. Think about getting yourself to the critical tipping point of financial freedom that allows you to choose what types of “work” or leisure you do.
Once you reach financial certainty and “choice”, relearn how you can use your skills on things you are really passionate about if you aren’t already doing work you love, even if they don’t offer substantial financial rewards.
The longest study on human happiness points out that the people who are happiest in their 80s are those with good relationships in their 50s.
Then do enough of the work you enjoy to keep you stimulated and generate the income you might need to support yourself. Then, combine that with life’s other pleasures in the second half.
Tackle ageism in the workplace so it doesn’t stop your career in its tracks
Ageism is discrimination against older people. We won’t be able to work on things we enjoy if today’s leaders don’t do something about ageism in the workplace. It’s shortening our careers, and it’s going to affect all of our abilities to contribute meaningfully in the future.
There are three types of ageism we have to tackle: institutional, which will limit our training, job opportunities and involvement; interpersonal, which will limit our social and integration opportunities; and self-driven, where we tell ourselves we’re too old to try when we aren’t.
This article continues, read the whole article on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today. It is not behind a paywall, but you may have to sign in.
Our life expectancies are growing, and it's likely we're all going to live a LOT longer. And that means we need to make changes to the way we live long before we reach old age so we can enjoy a better quality of life.
In this episode, I speak to one of the world leaders in longevity, Dr. Andrew Scott, author of "The 100-Year Life." He's just released a new book, "The Longevity Imperative," which will be hitting Australian bookstores on April 23rd.
He is a professor of economics at London Business School and he has previously taught at both Oxford and Harvard Universities. His perspective on longevity is simple, logical and sensible.
We discuss:
Why longevity has become a buzzword
The BIG mistake people make when it comes to longevity
What is the secret to a better quality of life in the second half? What can we do differently?
Finances matter, but saving money won’t solve our longevity challenges directly
Why health is critical
Curiosity is so important: As life gets longer, we get to develop as adults for longer
Social innovation and purpose: The biggest challenge we have is underestimating the capacity of older people
Looking at leisure before retirement
What to do about ageism
How to Have an Epic Retirement
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