Some interesting thoughts on the aging of the boomers.
"Boomers have a clear sense that their own aging is next," writes Matt Thornhill, head of the Boomer Project, that focuses on understanding the boomer generation and is part of a larger market research firm.
What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been --And Continues to Be
In survey after survey, boomers tell us they are not yet "done." They have mountains to climb, worlds to conquer, wrongs to right, and grandbabies to kiss. For most boomers, they'll be over the hill when they're under the hill.
The quest, it seems, isn't for the Fountain of Youth, but the Fountain of Vitality. Boomers will spend time, money, and considerable effort to maintain their vitality until their last breath. Viva the Vital! -- Long live the vital! --will be the mantra for the next 40 years. It is the context that explains the path boomers are taking.
John Martin sees in the retirement of boomers, happy days for organizations that depend on volunteers as they watch their ranks swell by as much as 50%
Boomers are Wired to Work and are volunteering in larger numbers and greater percentages than previous generations.
Our national research suggests that people over the age of 50 (which is where the majority of boomers are at present) have reached a point in life where they are less likely to focus on "becoming someone" and instead are focusing more on "being someone." While younger cohorts are driven more by interpersonal or external social values, boomers, especially boomers over 50, are more motivated by internal values such as self-fulfillment, self-respect, and sense of accomplishment.
Boomers Search for the Wisdom in Faith
Members of the generation that came of age tripping on mind-altering substances are more than likely exploring a new path at midlife and beyond: spiritual enlighten ment. In our work at the Boomer Project, we uncovered that baby boomers, now ages 44 to 62, are shifting their life's focus from trying to "become someone" to more about "being someone." This shift starts to happen around age 50, truly "midlife" (at least) for most of us.
Boomers beyond age 50 typically have become more motivated by inner feelings and beliefs, and are not driven so much by what their friends, peers, co-workers, or even family feel or believe. Boomers at midlife are beginning to wonder about their purpose, and what legacy they will leave. And it is the culmination of these feelings that has many midlife boomers becoming more religious and spiritual.
It surprised me to learn that six in seven boomers identify a religious affiliation.
When Thornhill wondered how he found himself back at church at 48, he found Dr. Gene Cohen's concept of the smarter and wiser brain and "developmental intelligence" compelling,
This is the combination of wisdom, judgment, perspective, and vision one develops later in life. It is characterized by three types of thinking and reasoning typically developed after age 50 or so: relativistic thinking (recognizing that knowledge is relative and not absolute); dualistic thinking (the ability to uncover and resolve contradictions in opposing and seemingly incompatible views); and systemic thinking (being able to see the larger picture, to distinguish between the forest and the trees).
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Accepting religion requires faith, which is not a black and white thing at all. Most religions require followers to uncover and resolve contradictions as a matter of course. And one must be able to see the larger picture in order to accept the tenets and beliefs of most religions. All of these tasks are much easier for boomers who have brains that are growing older and wiser every day.