Are You Ready for Immortality?
Important truths about growing older – Issue #79
Biomedical gerontologist Aubry de Grey believes that the first person who will live to be 150 is most likely already alive today. He also believes that we may reach a point of “escape velocity” with longevity research.
If you can hang in there, you may live long enough to achieve immortality.
“Once we get to the first generation of therapies that will, for example, give us an extra 20 or 30 years of healthy life, then that will be beyond this escape velocity transition, such that we will not have much trouble progressing the science faster than time is passing. So, the practical upshot will be that we live indefinitely.” — Aubrey de Grey
Some of this increased longevity is due to improvements in medical treatments to reverse the damage. Some of it will be due to preventative intervention to stave off cellular degeneration before too much damage accumulates to be irreversible.
However, an essential part of it is due to a greater understanding of the impact of lifestyle decisions. Many of us are eating better, giving up bad habits, and exercising.
My grandparents passed away a long time ago. I’m sure that they would have lived much longer if they hadn’t smoked and made unhealthy diet choices. Intentional exercise was not considered either. They weren’t from a generation that believed in “working out.”
They worked hard and lived their daily lives. They were undoubtedly physically active with their jobs when they were younger. However, they were a bit sedentary as they grew older.
What would you do differently if you knew that you might live forever?
Would you change how you take care of yourself now to maximize the enjoyment of your life later?
How would your career decisions change if you knew that you wouldn’t retire?
Don’t accept the traditional view of aging
My vision of old age wasn’t very favorable for most of my life. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
I would imagine that many of you aren’t either. I know that, at least in the U.S., we don’t paint a pretty picture of the elderly.
Watch the news, sitcoms, or movies, and you’ll assume that you’ll be shuffling around with a walker shouting at children to get off your lawn. Or, you’ll fall a lot and ask for help to get back up.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
I now know that this is an artifact of generational norms. My generation (GenX) is already changing the story.
Many of us have become midlife athletes, even if we weren’t very athletic in our youth. We’re discovering the joy of tuning our bodies to become fit and healthy.
I can truthfully claim that I’m in better physical shape now at 53 than I was at 25. That may sound strangely sad, but a staggering number of young people don’t actively manage their health or physical fitness.
I know that I wasn’t very consistent with my efforts. 82% of Americans don’t regularly engage in all of the exercise and activity required to maintain cardiovascular health and muscular fitness.
All I know is that I’m damn happy that I am committed to my health and fitness now. I’ve been consistent with my training and lifestyle for over 10 years now, and I’ve never felt better.
Do things change as you grow older? Of course, they do. I’ve lived long enough to discover that.
But, how you age depends a great deal on how you treat yourself and plan for the future.
Choose your future
Much like an old car, you can choose to have a beautiful classic car that still drives well and looks elegant, but requires a little more loving care. Or, you can have a rusted, busted hunk of junk that smokes, lurches, and groans its way down the road.
I was young once, and I remember how I felt about getting older. More recently, I worked in an industry where my teams were often young enough to be my children. So, I’ve witnessed my fair share of ridicule of the elderly.
I find this amusing. It’s almost as if the young think they are another species.
Guess what? We are your future. That is if you survive long enough.
You only have three choices:
Die young and don’t grow old. Unfortunately, some of my friends took this route. They chose to burn out, instead of the hypothetical “fading away.”
Grow old and be miserable. This is your destiny if you decide to ignore your health and pay the piper later. This may also happen if you don’t intentionally plan your “2nd Act Career.”
Grow old with grace. Accept that we all grow older, if we’re lucky. Invest in yourself so that you’re one of the few who are still living large until the end of your days.
Heck, you may even achieve immortality if you take this seriously. 😉
Growing older is better than you fear
I’m 53 years old. I’ve reached the point in my life where my young self thought life would begin to suck. I’m glad to report that he was wrong.
Many of you reading this are younger than I am. Let me reassure you that aging doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It only becomes harmful when you give up and give in, as past generations often did.
Get out of your youth bubble and meet some older folks. Connect with people who inspire you.
I have been lucky enough to have older role models who have shown me that you can stay sharp, active, and engaged until the end of your days. They give me hope.
Our society has become more mobile, and families are scattered. We spent most of our lives far away from our parents and grandparents. So, this meant fewer opportunities for our children to interact with older people.
We wanted them to learn to value and cherish the elderly vs. feeling uncomfortable around them. We had to seek out these role models and create our own diverse community.
Ignore the BS that the media and entertainment industry has fed us. The elderly aren’t comedic devices. Getting older isn’t the scary thing that advertisers want you to believe so that you’ll buy their crap.
Unfortunately, the workplace isn’t much better, especially in Silicon Valley. When was the last time you interacted with someone over 60 or 70 in the office? For some of you, I would bet that you never have.
Expand your network with some people who are much older than you are. It is good for them, and great for you.
I’ve learned so much from my friends who are farther along life’s path. The wisdom that comes with age is a genuine phenomenon. And, people truly do get happier as they live longer.
Get serious about taking care of yourself, just as you would do with anything else you care about (e.g., your home, car, laptop). Don’t feel like you have to act stereotypically “older” just because you are no longer young.
Your best years are still ahead of you, as long as you intentionally plan to make them that way.
Quick Tip
Unfortunately, ageism is a real issue in several industries and professions. My friends and I ran into it in Silicon Valley. I still remember the investors who commented on our gray hair when we raised money for my startup.
My clients often discover the subtle impact of age discrimination when they’re seeking a new job in their 40s and 50s. They say something like, “I used to be able to land a new job in just a few weeks when I was in my 20s and 30s. Now, I’ve been searching and interviewing for months with no luck. Something has changed…”
Even though age discrimination is illegal, it is challenging to prove. I don’t think the situation is going to change in our lifetime (unless we do become immortal). So, what can you do?
Well, one tip that I have for you is to plan for the inevitable impact of ageism. I did. I knew that the clock was ticking for my career, so I deliberately mapped out a path that would free me from competing with younger Product leaders and trying to fight the discrimination.
That’s why I moved into consulting and serving in advisory roles. The people who hired me were consciously seeking my decades of experience. They were looking for someone who had “been there and done that” several times over. They wanted my wisdom and perspective. My age was viewed as an asset, not a liability.
What are some alternate career paths you could take where age doesn’t matter (or matters a lot less)?
Even better, what role could you play — or what service could you provide — where your age is seen as a benefit and people want your wisdom and experience?
Plan your future now so that you can quickly roll with it when the time comes later.
Companies Offering Remote Jobs
Karat is looking for Interview Engineers who can work from anywhere they like.
Zapier is a fully-remote company hiring for several positions.
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