In your second phase of life, you can still make long-term plans, see a bigger picture. It takes something a little more today.
We’re living in complicated times. The impacts of the pandemic,economies and markets doing strange things and topsy turvy geopolitics. We’re living longer and we don’t want to retire because we still want to be an active part of our communities. We’re still, as we move into our 50’s, 60’s, even 80’s, able to think in the long-term. We should too. We can’t predict the future, but we can still thrive. If we prepare ourselves.
As Russian-American psychologist and writer Dr. Maria Konnikova says “You will never see the long run if, in the short term, you don’t buffer yourself against the vicissitudes of chance.”
If you’ve spent any time on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter, you’ve no doubt noticed the many articles shared on “do these three things to achieve…” or “Wake up at 4AM for one month and miracles will happen.” There are so many formulas and they’ll all work. But they don’t. Maybe for some. Not often.
As the highly vaunted management guru Peter Drucker put it, “The task is to manage what’s there and to work to create what could and should be.” Our world is in a pivotal time of change. We are all seeking to find a new balance and for those who are in the second phase of their lives, this can present some exciting new opportunities. Lived experiences can be brought to bear and you can plan for the long run.
That also means finding focus first, then mapping out your long term plan, perhaps making some adjustments and being prepared for change. As we age, we become less tolerant of change. Usually because we’ve settled into certain patterns and have built a life we want. This is fine, but change is inevitable. And we are in a huge time of change.
We’re living longer. That’s good. But it also means we need to make even longer term plans in our late forties and into our fifties. Financial planning is part of that and not just for early retirement. Let’s face it, most of us in our fifties and sixties today will be working longer than maybe we want…or maybe we’ll be starting businesses and doing things that give us a more fulfilling life.
While the saying “the journey is the destination” may seem trite, it bears some truth. Especially today. That means finding focus, however you do it, figuring out how to manage and cope with change and thinking about the short-term things we need to do to achieve our long run plans.
More: You might also enjoy this article on the new rules for the age of technology.
