Thursday, 30 March 2017

I'm going to live to be 100

Those born in the 1950's have a better chance of living to receive the Royal telegram that any previous generation.  Our improved health, our finances, our retirement wealth borne of pensions, bequests and home equity and our sheer bloody-mindedness to prove the actuaries wrong (is that just me?) combine to offer the tantilising spectre of scoring a century.

Of course we have to look after our bodies, minds and networks of friends to make such a feat physically possible but if we did reach 100 what would we tell the students of the 2050's about what we had learned in our long life?

What do you mean, the ageing app on the ipad didn't work?
Top of my list would be a lesson my wife repeats often to me:  Nobody's last words are "I wish I'd spent more time in the office" and "When you cannot start your work day with a smile then its time to leave".

And there's always: "Work for yourself and your family - that way the disappointments and stresses that your employer heaps on you are put into perspective.

Actually I'm writing this four decades away from being 100 - I wonder what else there is to learn in the other half of my life?

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