WHOSE SUCCESS ARE YOUR SEARCHING FOR?

Whose Success Are You Searching For?

Redefine your idea of success before it’s too late.

We set out to examine how the bodies and minds of men and women past age 65 might be refreshed so they could remain sufficiently engaged to enjoy their later lives.

A disturbing theme emerged early in our research that has haunted me to this day. In one assignment we asked people to chart the highs and lows of their life on a single sheet of graph paper.

We drew a line through the middle of the page and asked them to put above the line, periods when they enjoyed their lives; below the line were periods when life didn’t measure up to their expectations. To our surprise, by their own judgment, several of them had lived vast parts of their lives below what I’ll now call the success line.

Herb, 81, told us, sure, there were great moments, but overall his life had been a colossal disappointment. He hadn’t loved his job, though he’d stayed with it for decades. His long marriage was OK, but he felt he had let his true love get away when he was a young man.

His life had been wasted in many ways, he realized, and it was too late to do anything about it. Herb said that if he had it to do over, he would have focused far more on the people who mattered to him. He would have switched careers to something that would have challenged and stimulated him more. He would have taken more risks and pursued his passions.

We’ve become so taken by the lifestyles of the rich and famous (and often foolish) that we’ve lost a little bit of what really matters and truly satisfies in life.

Maybe it shouldn’t be primarily about money and advancement; maybe it should also be about personal growth, loving relationships, genuine happiness, purpose in work and a contribution to the greater good.

Ken Dychtwald – psychologist, gerontologist, successful entrepreneur, business consultant and author of 16 books.