A Drone From Sector 7-G

Lately my timeline on Threads has had a lot of posts from people who are 59 or 60 and completely lost in terms of figuring out what life is all about, what comes next, what to do about retirement or if they even can retire. Yes, they could all be bots or otherwise fake accounts but what if the sentiment is real? 

I'm sure I am seeing these because Threads must know from my Facebook profile that I am about that age although my birthyear is not on my profile. If you're anywhere close to that age, do you feel lost in this manner or maybe more constructively, do you know anyone close to that age who is similarly lost?

We've addressed this here and there over the years. To me this is all about having sense of purpose or maybe more correctly finding a sense of purpose. 

I appreciate that anyone who thinks they are a drone from Sector 7-G may find it difficult to develop a sense of purpose at work but it is up to us to figure this out for ourselves. My tagline for this sort of thing has been to paraphrase Joe Moglia by saying that no one will care more about your outcome than you.

A drone from Sector 7-G can find purpose in pursuing the next thing. I figured out in my nid-20's that I wanted to manage money from home, it took a couple of stops along the way and almost ten years to get there but there was purpose getting to that point. Time spent planning and learning for their next thing is very purposeful and provides hope for someone who is really unhappy at work.

Part of this has to be figuring out how to be happy at home. That's going to be different for everyone I imagine and maybe it takes work but it is a crucial building block to this conversation.  

I am always going to talk about the importance of health and fitness which if nothing else, can simply be one less thing to worry about for the older Gen-X or younger Boomer trying to figure it out. Feeling crappy all the time or being unable to do enjoyable things or perform tasks that have to be done will make it much harder to live a full life. Any day that you exercise is always a little better.

Living below your means should result in not having too much financial stress. Pulling that off makes every other aspect of life easier. 

It is important to have a positive attitude in life and be grateful but everyone says that. The only thing I can add there, but I think it matters a lot, is that it has to be genuine and that probably takes some self-training to make happen if those aren't already personality traits. Or maybe a lot of self-training.  

Any article you read along these lines will talk about the importance of having social connections. I think this is widely accepted as accurate but that is difficult for a lot of people. It certainly is for me. I am terrible at making and enjoying idle chit chat. When there's something to talk about, some purpose, there's no hang up.

If it weren't for the fire department, this is probably what I would look like. 

Actively volunteering can check a lot of these boxes. It is very purposeful and likely to involve a lot of social engagement. Volunteering as a firefighter creates an obvious need for some level of fitness as do many volunteer endeavors. My older brother volunteers at a food bank which involves a lot of lifting and moving of food. My wife does a lot with dogs and other tasks at the animal rescue that require being fit. 

I am sorry for anyone struggling for answers, all the more so if the posts I see on Threads capture the actual sentiment of people but as is the case with everything, the more we put in to solving it, whatever it is, the more we will get out. 

I'll close with a quote I used to cite very frequently from our friend Bill here in Walker, "you can figure it out now or you can figure it out later but you'll be much happier if you figure it out now."