Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Health, my midlife friend. This is Bernie Borges, your host of the Midlife Fulfill podcast, and this is episode 153, a takeaway episode from episode 152. My conversation with Carl Honore. On takeaway episodes, you know the drill. I summarize the key discussion points from the previous episode, and then I hone in on 1 key takeaway that I want to emphasize to you. And then I issue you a challenge to consider on this topic. 1st, I wanna begin by reintroducing you to Karl Honore. Karl Honore is an international best selling author and a TED speaker.
Bernie Borges [00:00:40]:
He is best known for his advocacy of the slow movement. In fact, he is known as the voice of the global slow movement. He’s written several books on the topic, including the international bestseller, In Praise of slow. Now there are 3 key discussion points from our conversation, and I’ll summarize them here. And then I’ll dig into my key takeaway. Number 1. The slow movement is about quality over quantity. As Carl says, it’s the art of choosing the right pace, Rhythm and tempo for each moment ensuring that we do things not just as fast as possible, but as well as possible.
Bernie Borges [00:01:19]:
Number 2, the joy of missing out. JOMO, this is a concept about the importance of prioritizing and doing fewer things, but doing them better. By practicing the polite but firm brush off as Carl calls it and embracing the joy of missing out, we give ourselves the freedom to focus on what truly matters resulting in increased productivity and fulfillment. And number 3. Embracing age pride and reframing aging is crucial in our culture of youth. Carl’s latest book, bolder making the most of our longer lives offers a spirited manifesto against ageism and reframes the narrative about growing older in the 21st century. Now my takeaway is inspired by embracing age pride. During my conversation with Carl, I shared that when I was in my fifties, I didn’t want to talk about my age.
Bernie Borges [00:02:19]:
I didn’t wanna even disclose my age during this decade. And you would think that when I turn 60, I would double down on this. Nope. Just the opposite. I’m in my mid sixties. And as I shared with Carl, I have age pride. I’m proud to be in my sixties. I disclose it openly without any hesitation.
Bernie Borges [00:02:42]:
So why do I have age pride? And how can we inspire more people to feel this way? 1st, I’ll tackle the first question. Why do I have age pride? There’s really no complicated answer to this. I just realized that there’s no reason not to feel this way. But if I’m completely honest, I also realized that I’m moving through life about the same as when I was in my forties fifties. Well, except for a few physical limitations, of course. I can’t participate in all the sports activities with the same intensity as I did in my forties fifties. For example, my knees just won’t let me move with the same agility as 15 or 20 years ago when I played in a men’s softball league. But, hey, there’s no shame in that.
Bernie Borges [00:03:30]:
Our bodies decline as we age. It’s natural. But if you know me by now from previous episodes, I am still committed to a 5 day a week workout regimen that keeps me pretty fit. So one reason for my age pride is that I’m able to keep up with my fitness routine pretty well. Another reason for my age pride is my work culture. You know, when I encounter other people in their sixties, usually, one of the first questions that they ask me is, are you still working, Bernie? My answer is health yeah. I love to work, and I do. I really do.
Bernie Borges [00:04:09]:
In my work, I interact with people of many age groups as young as Gen z. I sometimes marvel at how I’m able to work on projects in a level of detail that acquires a mix of technology know how and critical thinking. And the truth is that those of us that are in our forties and fifties and sixties and beyond, generally have stronger critical thinking skills than younger workers simply because we have more experience. Now that previous statement is a captain obvious statement, I know. Or is it? Why don’t many younger workers understand this? Why do many younger workers consider us over the hill or just not capable? This leads me to the 2nd question. How can we inspire more people to embrace age pride? This question isn’t as simple to answer. It’s multifaceted. But there is 1 answer that Carl shared, and I wanna repeat it here and put an exclamation point on it.
Bernie Borges [00:05:15]:
If the workplace or society in general was more intergenerational, There would be much less divisiveness between the twenties and thirties and those of us over 40. In fact, Consider countries where communities are comprised of people of all ages from children to elder adults, even centennials. Italy and Spain come to mind as examples. The culture in these countries is so commonly intergenerational that it’s just normal to them. They don’t even think about this. It’s just how they live. And as a result, these intergenerational communities thrive. The young enjoy and benefit from the experience and wisdom of the older folks, and the older folks enjoy and learn from the new skills and even the insights from the younger folks.
Bernie Borges [00:06:08]:
The problem is that too often, this intergenerational mixing doesn’t happen in the workplace, and I suggest that it doesn’t happen by design. It may happen by accident, but usually not by design. And that is very unfortunate. So I did a little research, and I want to share just a few of the obvious advantages of having a diverse range of ages in the workplace. They include varied perspectives and experience. Each generation can bring unique life experiences and perspectives to the workplace. And this diversity drives creativity and problem solving as well as different viewpoints. Is knowledge transfer.
Bernie Borges [00:07:00]:
Older employees possess valuable industry knowledge and expertise that we can pass on to our younger colleagues. This knowledge transfer ensures the continuity of institutional wisdom, mentoring opportunities. A multigenerational workforce creates opportunities for mentorship and reverse mentoring. Carl and I discussed this on episode 152. Younger employees can learn from the experience of older colleagues while older employees can benefit from the fresh insights and tech savviness of younger career, enhanced team collaboration. Diverse teams with a range of ages tend to collaborate more effectively. They can draw from a wider pool of skills and talents leading to increased productivity. Increased adaptability.
Bernie Borges [00:07:53]:
A mix of age groups encourages adaptability within the organization. Younger employees can introduce innovative technologies, while older employees can adapt and guide the integration of these technologies into existing processes. Customer understanding, A workforce spanning various age groups can better understand the needs and preferences of a diverse customer base leading to improved customer service and sales and marketing strategies. Reduced employee turnover. An age diverse workforce often experiences lower turnover rates. Employees from different generations can find greater job satisfaction when they feel valued and supported leading to improved retention, resilience, and stability. Diverse age groups can provide stability to an organization, helping it weather economic downturns and changes in the industry. And finally, embracing age diversity in the workforce can lead to a more inclusive, innovative, and productive environment.
Bernie Borges [00:09:00]:
The collective wisdom and the fresh ideas that come from different generations can contribute to the overall success of an organization. So my challenge to you is this. Take these age diversity benefits and apply them to your workplace. Or If your workplace is already age diverse, that’s great. Apply these benefits to some other areas of your Midlife, Your book club, your pickleball club, your bible study group, your foodie club, any club, any Organization or community of people that you belong to apply these benefits there. The benefits are the same other than they may not be for a business purpose. At the end of the day, Age diversity is good business even when it’s not in a business. Hey.
Bernie Borges [00:10:00]:
Shifting gears a little. I’m planning to send a short survey soon. You see, I wanna know if you would wanna join a free community of like minded midlife folks to meet online and share stories and insights across the 5 pillars of midlife. And if so, I want to know which online community platform is your preference. This survey is gonna be going Everyone that’s on my newsletter list so if you want to participate in this short survey, make sure you’re on my newsletter list. Just scroll down to the show notes page and find the link to subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Hey. I wanna thank Karl Honore for joining me on episode 150 to and sharing his expertise on the slow movement and age diversity with me and with you.
Bernie Borges [00:10:50]:
And I wanna remind you that you can watch my video recording with Karl Honore on episode 152 on my YouTube channel. And, of course, that is linked up in the show notes page for this episode. My next guest episode features Ashley Patrick. Ashley is an expert in debt reduction. We had a great conversation about her story of eliminating $45,000 in debt and how debt reduction or elimination can be done by just about anyone. You don’t wanna miss this episode. And if you’re a new listener, I wanna invite you to hit the subscribe button on your podcast player so that you don’t miss this episode as well as future episodes. You know what time it is, my midlife friend.
Bernie Borges [00:11:36]:
It’s that time when I remind you that if you’re 80% fulfilled, you’re doing great. And if you want to know how I know this, listen to episode 100 where I explain it. I’ll see you on episode 154 I’ll see you then
