How Long Do You Plan to Live?
My financial advisor’s question changed my life forever.
“So … how long do you plan to live?” he started.
I must have looked as though he’d slapped me across the face. He scrambled to add, “I need to start with some number before I can do any calculations. Otherwise, it’s pointless. You’re 60 now. So what, 20, 30, 40 years?”
Too late. The question was now on the table. I wouldn’t look at retiring in the same way ever again. Of course, I had no idea how long I was going to live, but it became immediately clear that it was something worth thinking about.
True, I knew the question he was really getting at — “Will I have enough money to avoid having to eat cat food before the clock runs out?” We all think about that question — will my savings cover the life I want to live? But there are things gnawing at me other than (and even more than) financial considerations:
- First off, how am I going to fill all that time? I’ve spent years working in health care, and making a difference. I can’t just grind to a halt now. Sure, I’m planning on having some fun, doing some travel, but I need to do something meaningful too. I need to matter.
- How will I maintain my physical health and my mobility for all that time?
- How do I keep my wits about me? Brain games don’t seem to be the answer.
- How do I keep my independence? Who will help me when I need it?
- What about personal relationships? Emotional connections? Intimacy?
The list can go on, but what’s clear is that the next 20, 30 or 40 years aren’t simply about money.
And that’s where the idea of Indigo came from.
There must be thousands, millions of us all facing the same challenge. All looking to make the most of the extra time we’ve been gifted. So at Indigo we’re trying to make those extra years the best years of our lives so far.
How long do you plan to live? My financial advisor’s question was pretty bleak: he was talking about the state of being alive, of not being dead. But there’s another more active meaning of ‘“living” — the sense of vigorously living a fulfilling life, of doing new things and making a difference.
In that active sense of the word, I plan to live forever. What about you?
This is the fourth in a series of articles about how we at Indigo think about aging in our culture. We invite discovery of many wonderful things in life, in the belief that purpose in life is the antidote to loneliness. Be part of our community at helloindigo.com
