Disrupting the Golden Years? The Upside of Change

Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick J. O’Connor

Remember the term, “golden years”? The last time we heard that, we may also have used a rotary dial phone, or heard someone say, “change the channel,” or “where’s the phonebook?”

The term golden years originated in an advertising campaign for an Arizona retirement community in 1959. Golden years implied that retirees could live a life of leisure because they were no longer working. Retirees could envision a lifestyle of endless, carefree days and abundant enjoyment.

The retirement reality is, there is no automatic or cruise control in life. There is no time to “rust on your laurels.” Rather than assuming a cruise-control lifestyle, Boomers are throwing life into high gear. Embracing change and new ways of doing things are essential to a happy retirement lifestyle. It’s still all about turning what you love into what you do.

Lifelong learning  – a daily challenge
Regardless of our age, we are always learning. Learning was once mostly restricted to school and the workplace. Now, daily life is as complicated as anything we might do at work. Even for retirees, learning is constant due to the rapid rate of changes in so many aspects of life. It seems like we are constantly doing things differently, with no end in sight. Time and distance are no longer an item, thanks to technology.

Some changes make life simpler, though others make it more difficult and confusing. Some enable us to do things we never could do before, which enhance our lifestyle. Videocalls and email come to mind. Other changes require us to interrupt our comfortable routines and patterns. Some people have multiple pages of passwords, secret questions/answers, and an account for almost everything. A local library actually has a community education course called “Watching Television.” Getting out of our comfort zone has become the norm.

Disruption
To disrupt means to create a product, service or way of doing things which displaces an existing product, service or way of doing something.  The same need is satisfied but through a different source. The basic idea is to make things more convenient, less expensive and easier for the consumer.

“The road to success is always under construction” – Lily Tomlin

Disruption evolves from innovation, usually by technology, which causes change that disrupts the status quo. New ways of doing things replace existing ways, which become “old.” Over time, we stop doing things “the way we used to.”

The term “game changer’ is often associated with disruption. The next game changer  roaring our way is Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will change many aspects of work as well as daily life. ChatGPT (generative pre-trained transformer), for example, may  revolutionize everything from education to communication to customer service. And everyone is in for a steep learning curve to adapt and keep up with it. It is described as “dangerously strong” by Elon Musk.

Disruption has been around forever. Automobiles, airplanes, telephones, trains and lightbulbs are great examples. There are also dozens of current examples of disruption. Necessity remains the mother of invention and technology is the vehicle. In addition to ChatGPT, two everyday examples of disruption are EZPass and the iPhone.

EZPass
EZPass is slowly replacing the way we pay for tolls on toll roads. At one time, everyone gave money to a toll booth operator who handled the transaction. Overtime, machines/technology were designed to provide travelers a quicker option. The next step in the evolution of this process was EZ Pass which is more convenient in several ways. EZPass will become more popular as millions of Boomers continue to travel. In some states, high speed EZPass is available enabling drivers to pay tolls without slowing down.  Drivers without EZPass get their toll mailed to them. This eliminates the toll booths as well as all the people who use to work in them.

 iPhone
The iPhone is another excellent example of disruption. It is just about impossible these days to live without the iPhone. Look at all the processes and products that have been affected by it. In many cases, we just do things a bit differently, while in other situations, the disruption has completely replaced something. Among other things, the iPhone has replaced calendars, calculators, maps, newspapers, cameras and phone books. As more applications are developed, the iPhone will continue to disrupt life as we once knew it. 

Disruption meets lifelong learning: The upside of change
The essence of change, innovation and disruption expose the need for increased lifelong learning, which is an opportunity to stay young. Learning keeps people busy, active and the wheels turning.  Research results confirm that lifelong learning is connected to improved cognitive function, healthy socio-emotional well-being, and positive self-perception. Lifelong learners tend to be happier and live longer.

So, the next time change comes knocking at our door, we should welcome it. It may help us live longer.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford