What are you doing the rest of your life?

NOW THAT we have started a new year, you may have already declared your New Year’s resolutions—lose weight, exercise more, balance work and family, work more or work less, avoid tardiness, learn a new skill, etcetera. For those aged 40 and above—the halftime or Life II as termed by author Bob Buford—it may be wise to add another item to your list: Ponder what to do with the rest of your life.

“It’s the season of ‘now what?’” writes Buford in his book Finishing Well: Is There Something More?, published locally by OMF Literature Inc. Buford is also chairman of the board of The Buford Foundation and Leadership Network, and founder and former chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. “Halftime used to be the beginning of the end. Now it is the beginning of a whole new beginning—a season that for me and many others has turned out to be the richest and most meaning-filled season of all,” writes Buford.

Have you ever noticed why some men and women approach aging with grace and purpose? They have realized that there is more to life than just meeting quotas and bringing home the bacon. “Far from just wasting away by themselves, they are deeply engaged in contributing to the lives of others. It’s what I call socially productive aging,” writes Buford.
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