I’m not sure why I was surprised when the cashier at Shoppers Drug Mart offered me a discount on the greeting card I was purchasing. Apparently, it was Seniors’ Day – who knew? It wasn’t that I was surprised that it was Seniors’ Day, but wait…what? I’m a senior?
Oh yeah, I guess I am.
Among the many terms that describe the various generations – Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and now iGeneration or Generation Z – there appears to be a new name for people like me. I’m not young and I’m not old – I’m yold.
The Japanese call people between the ages of 65 and 75 “yold,” the young-old. This highly-influential group of baby boomers will presumably retire in the coming decade. But, as The Economist notes, many of them are eschewing retirement. “By continuing to work, and staying socially engaged, the boomers, in their new guise as the young old, will change the world, as they have done several times before at different stages of their lives.”
I was born in 1959, toward the end of the baby boom. By the time I came along, new schools had been built to accommodate the bulge. The economy grew to the point that there were jobs when I hit the workplace. Presumably, there will be enough long-term care beds to handle the impending influx when I get to that stage. It has been a relatively good time to be alive.
For those of us contemplating retirement right now, here are two challenges:
- How do we make this the best chapter of our lives?
- How will we collectively change the world, as The Economist suggests?
Whether we continue to work for pay or not, many of us yolds will have more time than we ever did to pursue personal interests and passions. While it is important to be intentional about how we spend our remaining years – ideally focusing on family, friends, fitness, fun, faith and the like – we should also decide how we can make a difference in these challenging times. How can I, personally, change this big bad world for the better?
I believe the answer is to be bold. We haven’t been raising children, building careers and businesses, creating art, or pursuing lifelong learning for nothing. We can now draw on the full power of our life experiences to make things better, not just for ourselves, but for the Millennials and iGens, as well.
To do this, we need to be positive about the future. Instead of bemoaning the way things have changed since we were young, let’s use our mighty voices to bring about even more change. By engaging in our communities, getting involved in politics, standing up for those less fortunate, using our social media channels to spread encouraging messages, or doing our part to preserve the environment, we can go from strength to strength as seniors. We certainly have strength in numbers.
It’s not only a great time to be alive, it’s a historic time to be yold.
