Boomer Camp Part 2

What are the Variables in Finishing Well?

In 1998, John Rowe and Robert Kahn co-authored the book, Successful Aging. The book summarizes the findings of a MacArthur Foundation Study that tracked about 1189 very healthy adults between the ages of 70-79 for a period of 7 years. Though the book may seem a bit dated, it is still regarded as one of the most authoritative sources on how people can age well. Many of the findings in the book are counter-intuitive, and they establish the fact that lifestyle choices you make determine your health and vitality.

What are the key behaviors or characteristics that lead to successful aging according to Rowe and Kahn?

1. Low risk of disease and disease-related disability
2. High mental and physical function
3. Active engagement with life

I think these three factors pretty well sum up the variables that determine how most baby boomers can maximize the second half of their adult lives.

Under the first area (Avoidance of Disease) we could put such things as:

• Health
• Nutrition

The second area (High Mental and Physical Function) would include:

• Challenging your mind on a regular basis
• Physical fitness programs
• Weight loss programs

The last area (Active Engagement with Life) would incorporate:

• Social networks of friends and family
• Relationships and activities that provide closeness and meaningfulness
• Purposeful work (paid or unpaid) that provides goods or services of value to others

I would add a few more variables to aging well and finishing well, such as good financial planning and management, and personal, spiritual growth and development, discovering your passion and living it out, etc.

My hope for the Boomer Camp experience is that the groups we form will consist of men who are strong in some of these areas, and challenged in others. Using collaborative learning tools, we will facilitate a process that would allow everybody to be both a teacher and a learner as we move through these specific areas.

I don't think that it is outside the realm of possibility to think that we could dream about ways in which we could take on some big, global problems together as we unleash our passions in partnership with God. My hope is that many of those who participate in the Boomer Camp experience will be men who are already engaged in major efforts tackling such things as human trafficking, poverty, hunger, education, orphans, aids, etc.

Is it too much to expect that the largest, healthiest, wealthiest, and best educated generation of older Americans ever could impact the world as we know it in ways never dreamed of? I want to be a part of this. How about you?