As a generation we have responded to a plethora of challenges; demands of work and family, the crashing and burning of financial markets, (how many recessions have we lived through) layoffs, cost cutting, substance abuse, parents, siblings, and of course for some of us, teenage children. The reasons why we may be burnt out are numerous.
Cutting slack to the boomer generation is not what I do; coaching up our generation is what I do, and to say there is a passion for reaching deep and inspiring others would be an understatement of Godzillalike proportions.
Here comes the Kool-Aid everyone!
Remember back in the day (we did not coin that term but borrowing is ok in my book) when we were telling everyone never trust anyone over 30? That the âGeneration Gapâ of our parents and us was so profound that we just knew they would never get it, and that loud music and the Beatles, acid rock and disco were the scourge of a generation. We find the tables completely flipped everyone (everyone being us, the boomers) in that the consensus is building that we are becoming relics, heck the youngest of the baby boomers started turning 50 this year!
Relics, pppppleeeeeasssse!
Burnout is just a phase, like taking a breather, time for some regrouping and re-evaluation of our next fifty years. Time to get over the âbeen there-done thatâ mindset and shift into fourth gear. We’ve got plenty left in the tank.
Transitional competitiveness is a term that resonates with me, kind of like playing hoop in the driveway or playing touch football in the street with the neighbor kids, building friendships and skills took practice and engagement. You do not become an empowered
generation by sabotaging your own success, and we are destined to pick up our games and get leading: the 21st century and our younger generations need guidance.
Mike Murphy of Time magazine had a cool quote recently that he used in the context of pumping up the Republican party which was, âwe can do the hard work we must do to win: leave our comfort zone, face and fix our policy weaknesses, revamp our rusty tactics and focus relentlessly on tomorrow’s voters instead of yesterdayâsâ. I liken his attitude to a larger demographic, the 80 million or so baby boomers who may be in need of a fresh mindset, and some inspirational rah-rah!
Climbing the ladder of life is the fun part of our journey. Think about that for a second and when you are feeling a little bit worn out, or burnt out. Walter Wriston, former chairman of CEO of Citigroup said âwhen you retire you go from whoâs who to whoâs thatâ.
Ugh!
Investing in quality of life can be likened to the perpetual 401k, think about the diversification of personal attributes and adding value to the world for the betterment of humanity. If you keep your personal compass pointed in the direction of success you eventually will find happiness. Fearing success, or fearing that next âthingâ you want to try, disables our love of life.
You gotta fight for the right to âMaximize Your Quality of Lifeâ. As Benjamin Franklin said, âtime is moneyâ it is up to each of us if we are going to increase our wealth, our personal bank of well-being, happiness and health. I believe together we’ve got a lot more in the tank baby. As my friend Judy Diaz of âNext Avenueâ said to me itâs all about âhow to be my best over 50â!
I love it, how about you!?
Peace
Tom Matt is the host of the radio talk show âBoomers Rockâ where he interviews experts in all fields that pertain to baby boomer quality of life and is heard on Grand Haven’s WGHN 1370 AM and syndicated on the VoiceAmerica Radio network
He encourages messages and feedback, loves sharing success stories and can be emailed at-Â tom@boomersrock.us.
