Why The Linear Life Plan Is Disappearing

byDBCrist

451 followers

5 years ago

The Linear Life Plan

Until recently the charting of our lives has been very neat and predictable. First you learned, then you worked, then you died. There are a number of reasons we accepted the Linear Life Plan.

First it fulfilled the biological and social requirements of a short life span. Second it was tradition, you were expected to act your age. Third it was the law, we created Government regulations and Institutional rules that prescribed the ages at which we should go to school, begin and end our work careers and when we could retire and receive a pension. And lastly it was our own assumptions. Who hasn't said at one time or another, " It's too late for me to try that" or " If I could only have another chance to do it over again" or "If only I were younger, I would....."

In many ways we would judge ourselves by how successful we were at following the Linear Plan. We convinced ourselves that any deviation from the Plan would leave us poor, childless and socially ostracized.

The Cyclic Life Plan

Today we are seeing a dissolution of the traditional Linear Life Plan and in its place a much more flexible arrangement, known as the Cyclic Life Plan, is emerging. Due mainly to the increase in life expectancy, we are starting to realize that not only will we live pass 50 and 60 but still be vigorous, active, and independent into our 80s and even 90s.

Because of this longevity, we are beginning to find ourselves cycling in and out of several careers throughout our lives, each interspersed with periods of rest, recreation, retraining and personal reflection. Some of us will hit our career stride for the first time, long after it was considered time to retire.

Rethink Retirement

Increasing life expectancy and better health are altering the very definitions of "old age" and "retirement". The increasing length of non-income earning retirement can cause severe financial hardships. We are seeing more and more older people, not only having to work in some fashion, but many who prefer to work.

Growing numbers of people have begun to question, not only when to retire, but whether retirement as it now exists even makes sense. Many see retirement as an uncertainty or even a problem. Something that will separate them form the kinds of productive lives they are capable of living, well into their 70s and 80s.

The dead hand of tradition, the weight of regulations and our own expectations are given way. We no longer feel forced, to do exactly what the generation before us did. In a longer life there are second and third chances. We have the opportunity, to go back and do some things we weren't able to do, for whatever reason, earlier in life.

So why are so many people choosing to stop working in their later years, even with the risk of outliving their money?

1. They still live in the Linear Plan.
2. They are tired of doing what they were doing and see no worthwhile alternative.
3. They assume that it's too late to start a whole new career.
4. There is age discrimination, which although illegal, still makes the barriers to re-entering the work force, extremely difficult to overcome.
5. Work schedules toady are usually all or nothing, or they expect you to work third shift.
6. Can only find work that is too physically challenging or not intellectually challenging.

Workplace Is Changing

Luckily as our postindustrial economy matures into a more technological one, more and more jobs will be based on connecting with people, utilizing knowledge, experience and judgment. Increasingly with each new wave of professional obsolescence, millions of men and women at varying stages of life will begin the sometimes frustrating often times exhilarating process of beginning entirely new careers.

WA Can Take You There

It's projected that that by 2020, thirty percent of the work force will go to work without leaving home. If a self employed lifestyle appeals to you, were you can adjust your hours and working conditions to more easily meet your needs, then WA offers the training and expertise to get you there. You just need to treat it like a career and not a hobby.

As always, thanks for visiting. Dave