We tend to live in patterns. We find ways of living that work for us and stick by them until we are forced to change often because of circumstances beyond our control. In some cases we may try to keep one eye on future developments and develop the habit of adjusting before adjustment is forced upon us.
Alternatively we may live by being so unsettled about what the future may bring that we fail to enjoy what we have. Perhaps living well involves having one eye on what’s coming as well as keeping our focus on what we have now?
Some people are particularly unmotivated to think about how they live and work unless they have been called to action by some kind of problem. They know they are good at dealing with problems and crises and they are not interested in getting involved unless a problem has turned up. That is all very well but it limits our ability to plan and balance our lives. Being young or being middle aged this may be enough, but what about when we are older?
Faced with the challenge of retirement we have to think about how to live in times when we are older and have more times on our hands. How will we make the most of the opportunity? We won’t be able to rely on work presenting us with stimulating challenges, we will have to think about how we live. if we don’t it is possible we will feel increasingly irrelevant, become dissatisfied and perhaps depressed. The challenge of how to live well will remain.
Perhaps it would be better to get into the habit of thinking about how we live now, and of planning for change now rather than kicking it down the road as though it is a problem that has nothing to do with us.
