We must always change, renew, rejuvenate
ourselves; otherwise we harden.
— Goethe
The most up-to-date research in gerontology has uncovered a shocking conclusion: as much as 80 percent of what we now call “old age” is not related to biology. Instead, it has its roots in expectations and attitudes. True, the 20 percent that is a product of biology may incapacitate us and even result in our death. But the good news is this: if we concentrate on improving and changing the unnecessary 80 percent, we stand to profit beyond our most optimistic expectations.
The Law of Lifetime Growth is at the heart of this approach.
Everyone — young, old, rich, poor, healthy, diseased — absolutely everyone has the capacity to change, to learn, to evolve, and to grow.
Yet we succumb to a set of cultural beliefs that classify and restrict people to roles that create anything but total wellness. It’s high time to take seriously the Law of Lifetime Growth.
I was fortunate to be raised in a household that treasured lifetime growth. It was important in our home that we all had an understanding of world news — not just the story, but the history and the people behind the stories. My mother and father made us think. What were the alternatives to a border fight in Pakistan? How could inflation be kept in check? What about civil rights in our own state?
We were encouraged to read, to study, to think for ourselves. In both high school and college I was active in speaking and debate. My parents encouraged me to choose topics that stretched the mind and challenged the thinking and then to reduce those subjects to clearly understandable terms that anyone could grasp. Since the earliest days, I was primed for lifetime growth. Today, I have an insatiable curiosity.
The Law of Lifetime Growth is inextricably intertwined with the idea of vital curiosity. It works for children, young adults, career trackers, and seniors. The idea is to constantly explore, to seek, to have an attitude and bearing that says, “I’m interested in finding out what life holds.”
Lifetime growth is much more than a classroom issue. Its boundaries spread far beyond academe. Lifetime growth is the cornerstone of successful parenting, of career satisfaction — of fulfillment in all of life.
Nowhere do I need the Law of Lifetime Growth more critically than in my work with senior citizens. In our programs at retirement communities, we view with a critical eye any activities that aim to pacify the residents. Such activities come out of a kind of babysitting model of elder care; they create dependency. I bristled when one social director recently described her intent as “to keep the natives quiet.”
Such attitudes stand as cultural roadblocks to lifetime growth. We limit and categorize people based on age and our own beliefs about aging. Our words betray a deep cynicism regarding older people: “Old means no longer productive”; “A senior citizen should just enjoy the golden years”; “He has earned a rest.”
No more! The Law of Lifetime Growth must come to the forefront. This law is a far-reaching idea, one that shakes the very foundations of modern society. And it is filled with promise.
Governments and citizens must commit to the concept of lifetime growth. We must recognize that growth is always possible, no matter what our age or ability. Are disabilities limiting? Sometimes. Is growth still possible? Of course. We must redouble our efforts to honor the potential of each life throughout its span.
This law is violated constantly at every level of society. To put an end to this, we must shift the beliefs of massive numbers of people in all cultures. We must strike the category of age off documents except for statistical and record-keeping purposes, in the same manner that the Constitution prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race or religion. No person should ever again be forced to retire simply because of age.
A commitment to lifetime growth is the key.
Attitude-altering attempts are not the exclusive domain of government. Ultimately, we are each responsible for creating and satisfying our curiosity about life. Our efforts make all the difference! The list of great men and women who have committed themselves to this law is long and inspiring.
Thomas Alva Edison, who attended school for only three months and was deemed mentally slow by his teachers, patented a total of 1,033 inventions! His work spanned a lifetime, with his first patent issued at age twenty-one, his last at age eighty-one. Much of the technology of the twentieth century derives from his achievements, of which the electric light bulb and the generation of electricity are but two.
The lessons: genius does not depend on advanced degrees or the approval of others; pursue your God-given talents throughout your life. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
The comedian George Burns, born on New York’s Lower East Side, after the death in 1964 of his beloved wife, Grade Allen, was expected to retire. Instead, he became even more involved in his work and in life. At the age of eighty he won an Oscar for his role in The Sunshine Boys. He’s booked to play Las Vegas on his hundredth birthday. That’s lifetime growth.
The lessons: overcome loss; rise to new and greater possibilities; never let age be an excuse. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
Anna Mary Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, the much-loved painter, farmed until her late seventies. For many of her years she also embroidered, but when she turned seventy-eight her fingers had become too stiff to handle a needle; she began to paint in oils instead. Her pictures of rural America were soon on exhibit internationally. In the hundredth year of her life, she illustrated an edition of A Visit from St. Nicholas (“’Twas the night before Christmas…”); it was published in 1962, one year after her death.
The lesson: keep seeking even after defeat. Your greatest work may yet lie ahead. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright, remained active and immensely productive until his death at ninety-four. A seminal thinker who sparked thoughtful debate, Shaw wrote about the arts and politics, penning his last play when he was in his late eighties. His work has stood the test of time.
The lesson: cultivate ideas. Respond to issues that intrigue and motivate. Pursue these interests daily. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
The social anthropologist Margaret Mead, at age seventy-two, made a trip to study the Arapesh people of New Guinea. In 1975, a television documentary traced a typical week in her life. She was constantly busy — contributing and exploring. Her week was so packed with work that it exhausted the television crew, most of whom were less than half her age.
The lesson: find your passion and pursue it. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
Benjamin Franklin, writer, scientist, inventor, and one of the greatest statesmen of the Revolutionary era, achieved his most notable victories in later life. At seventy, he was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, as well as one of its signers. He was seventy-five when he negotiated the end to the War of Independence. Called the wisest American, Franklin was eighty-one when he effected the compromise that brought the Constitution of the United States into being.
The lessons: work, contribute, find a higher cause, give of self, and devote your life to the well-being of others. The qualities that drove such activities did not disappear when Franklin died. Perhaps they are out of style. But the great life can be ours by pursuing those ideals. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
Edward “Duke” Ellington never retired — although he “retired from booze” when he was in his mid-forties. For nearly fifty years he had a band, always performing, circling the globe. He made his first recording in 1924 and his last in 1974, not many weeks before his death. He left a great legacy — the most distinctive single body of composition in the history of jazz.
The lessons: never retire — except to put personal excesses to rest. Always aspire — for the greater goal. That’s the Law of Lifetime Growth.
The Law of Lifetime Growth demands both a cultural change and a megashift in our own thinking about all life can be.
This law of wellness represents a great hope for people of all ages, all states of wellness, all cultures.
Grow. Learn. Pursue. Contribute. Enjoy. Make the commitment. You’ll know fulfillment as never before. It’s the non-negotiable Law of Lifetime Growth.