The Encore Mindset

Hello! Hope the days have been good to You -and- You have making the most of each of your days!

As always, appreciate You stopping by to check out the articles.

This week Justin and I recorded the latest episode of our ‘Encore Phase’ podcast, (will be released shortly). We examined my thoughts on what I called the “Encore Mindset.” When we were building our Family and career lives, it was crucial for us to possess a strong mindset of establishing our values, focusing upon our career pursuits, identity, success and building our security.

When we reach our ‘Encore Phase’ of Life, the focus shifts to placing more emphasis on our well-being, health and longevity. If You ask a retiree what are the important keys to successful aging, they most likely will say; health, financial security and relationships.

Of course, these are indeed critical to aging well. Although, I am experiencing another aspect which may very well contribute more to enjoying a more fulfilling Life during the ‘Encore Phase.’

There is research to back this up so I’m not presenting something new. It appears what separates those who flourish from those who merely survive is ….

Whether we continue to be surprised by things!

 We’ve been conditioned to think about retirement as a destination we reach through careful planning and resource accumulation. Save enough money, exercise regularly, maintain friendships -check these boxes- and our later years will unfold predictably and comfortably. This makes aging sound like a problem to be solved rather than a process to be lived!

The research suggests something different: the people who age most successfully aren’t necessarily those who planned the best, but those who remained most curious about what comes next.

It remains extremely important for us to get excited about books we haven’t read, places we haven’t been and ideas we haven’t considered. Being surprised by Life requires admitting we don’t already know how everything works, and most of us become less capable of this admission as we age.

When we reach our 60s and 70s, we believe we have accumulated enough experience to feel like we’ve seen most of what Life has to offer. We have developed strong opinions about politics, relationships, and just about everything, (whether we admit to this or not). This certainty feels like wisdom, and it is because our experiences have taught us valuable lessons.

But this certainty also creates what psychologists call “cognitive rigidity..” This is defined to be the tendency to approach new situations with old assumptions and to stop learning because we think we already know.

The people who seem to age most gracefully maintain what researchers call “intellectual humility.” This is defined to be the recognition that our understanding of the world remains incomplete and we need to keep learning and experiencing things. It may be more important to want to still change our minds about things.

One of my wants during my ‘Encore Phase’ is to continue reading more. Within the variety of books, I have been reading about the works of the ancient Stoic philosophers, (mainly through the books written by Ryan Holiday). The Stoics had a concept that maps perfectly to this foundation that wisdom comes not from reaching final answers, but from continuing to want to learn and remain engaged with Life’s fundamental questions.

Marcus Aurelius, when writing in his 60s, didn’t present his “Meditations” as settled conclusions—he presented them as ongoing reflections from someone still trying to figure things out.

This Stoic approach recognized something that modern retirement planning often misses: that humans need continued growth and discovery -and- this thirst doesn’t disappear at 65 or 75 or ever.

The fact that the external markers of our progress we had during our Family and career lives, such as; raising our Children, our career advancement, wealth accumulation, are no longer available when we retire. This means our internal growth then becomes the primary source of our vitality. For us to age our best, we must continue to understand that we are still becoming someone, not just maintaining who we already are, ( the traditional model of retirement = finish line. Not even close! )

Life will continue to offer surprises at every age. The question isn’t whether surprising things will happen, but whether we remain open enough to recognize them as surprising.

Health, financial security, and relationships provide the foundation for a healthy retirement in Life. However, the capacity to remain surprised, delighted, challenged and open to be changed by new experiences may be what makes the foundation worth building on during our ‘Encore Phase‘ -and- permit us to continuing building an extremely fulfilling Life, with purpose, during our ‘Encore Phase.’

Continue stepping forward in the ‘Encore Phase‘ with enthusiasm and eagerness -and- please continue to take care of yourself, make the most of your days -and- always remember;

“Never quit searching, never settle and never give up seeking your greater purpose!“