I am grateful to have found a job that I actually want to go to everyday.  Let me rephrase that:  I am thankful that I have been afforded the opportunity to enjoy what I do to earn a living.

During these past several months, I have been advised to take whatever job is offered, apply for anything that becomes available, take every exam/test that opens—just get myself on a list, any list, and of course, my favorite smack down reminder, “Your Cadillac salary days are over. Just get something that pays something, anything.”

These individuals all meant well.  They are all in their 50s and some in their early 60s; they understand the daunting challenge I was facing trying to find employment in an ageist society and recession-induced economy.

I don’t want to live a life of workplace disappointment, bitterness, resentment and that’s-not-my-job job-hating existence.  I want my work life to be more than just a paycheck.  That was my attitude at the beginning of my working career.  I hope to be spared reverting to that mindset at the twilight of my public sector career.

At the end of the day, I am the only one who has to live with the way I choose to earn a living.

Yes.  I am truly grateful that this circus of circumstances has taught me that I still have what employers want; that I can still, at 57, get job offers and actually get hired—and offered a decent and livable salary.

Yes.  After 43 years in the workforce, I am thankful to be still enjoying going to work!

The New Kid…At 57

But, they forgot to factor in one reality; this is my work life challenge, not theirs.

It hasn’t been easy being the “new kid” in my new job/work assignment.  I have been humbled in so many ways that have left my work persona/ego bruised, battered and blistered.

But you know what?  I’ll get over it.  I will get through it.  You don’t get to be 57 on this planet in this day and age (economy) without having cultivated some survival skills. My emotional and mental state of mind, of feeling like ET during the IT-driven job hunting process and just wanting to go home (old job) are slowly ebbing away.

Some work/career lessons I learned decades ago prove to be still relevant and useful strategies for my workplace survival kit. 

I don’t have to be popular, but I do have to be civil.  Regard others the way I want to be regarded.
It’s rarely about me. When necessary, I try to remind myself that there is usually history (politics) at play in a new work culture that I have absolutely no clue about. So why take a difficult or unpleasant situation personally—especially when I know I had nothing to do with creating it?
No matter what culture/work environment philosophy is preached or promoted, understand that the real work culture that is actually practiced by my new coworkers is what I must learn to navigate without compromising my work ethic.
Is it about the work or is it about the money?  As long as it’s about the work, I will be okay; but if I focus on dollars and decimal digits, I won’t thrive or survive in such a work environment.

Retirement is still winking ever closer.  In the meantime, I’m enjoying my new public sector career journey!

Internet safety experts recommend the use of password manager apps to generate strong passwords and to store those passwords securely.

This instructional YouTube video gives an overview password manager software.

Here are some other helpful hints for protecting your passwords:

• Every account you create should have a unique password.
• Enable a lock screen on all devices on which you use a password manager so that the unique passwords you have created are not able to be accessed by someone other than you.
• Password managers can alert you to data breaches that affect sites that you have an account for.

For more updates about internet safety subscribe to the Oasis Connections YouTube channel.

Apple, Google and Microsoft have been moving away from passwords for the last few years. Microsoft’s May 2019 version will move users one step closer to eliminating passwords. Use of Personal Identification Numbers or PINs is recommended instead of Passwords.

The Oasis Connections classes Introduction to the Computer, Meet the Computer and Windows 10 all include instructions for creating a PIN so you’re ready to help class participants set one up!

Pundits and social media watchers are calling it the first viral trend of 2019, and anyone participating on Facebook over the weekend couldn’t miss it.

But make no mistake: Facebook’s How Hard Did Aging Hit You? Challenge is ageist, and dangerously so. The campaign looks harmless, but actually encourages social media users to participate in and perpetuate a tired and negative narrative about the process of getting older.

The challenge involves inviting your Facebook friends to share two photos of themselves: one from when they started using the social media platform and a current photo. The user then posts the two photos side by side and shares. A typical passage of time between profile pictures is about 10 years or so.

On the surface, such an exercise could be considered just a harmless, even fun, walk down memory lane. To those who participated and did so in that spirit, that’s wonderful.

But as a leader in the field of productive, healthy aging, I encourage a closer look at what’s really happening with this viral campaign. What lies just beneath the surface is a collective and problematic failure to engage in important conversations about the many ways we grow, evolve, learn, and indeed face challenges as we all age.

Facebook misses the mark here by perpetuating a negative narrative about aging not only to those of us who are “of a certain age and beyond,” but to everyone using the platform. It’s not simply about offending older adults.  A 2018 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults indicates that Facebook remains the most widely used social media platform, with 68% identifying themselves as users.

By accepting an invitation to consider a question that starts from a negative conceptual launch pad, How Hard Did Aging Hit You? and answering that negative question with physical evidence, there are only two outcomes, and neither of those do anything to shed a nuanced light on aging. Those who take the bait on this have two options once they have invited hundreds of their closest Facebook friends to compare the two photos: commiserate and be a good sport about some good-natured ribbing on how much someone has changed physically over time—more gray hair, a change in weight, added wrinkles—OR accept congratulations for holding the aging process at bay, at least in photos (which can be problematic exercises in self-presentation in general, a topic beyond the scope of this conversation). Where does one go from there, especially since aging is a process that cannot be avoided? Avoid taking photos? Stop looking at photos from the past?

A more interesting and helpful campaign that would have impact on people of all ages  would be something that gives participants a mechanism to take stock in changes that have occurred over time and allows space for more complex explanation and thought. Would people participate if invited to describe how they’ve grown over the last ten years? How the triumphs and challenges they’ve experienced over time have changed their perspectives on themselves, their work, their personal missions, their relationships with others? The question that Facebook should be asking is not How Hard Did Aging Hit You? but How Have You Improved Over Time? Or better yet, How Are You Getting Better As You Get Older? The latter implies a natural process and a moving forward with hope and a plan of action.

To those who helped this campaign go viral and feel like you have a better story to tell about all that went on between the two snapshots you shared, I encourage you to go back to that post and add some context. Share what’s happened to you during that span of time, what you learned from it and how you plan to go forward, what you have to offer right now.

Paul Weiss is President of The Oasis Institute, a national education organization that promotes healthy aging through lifelong learning, active lifestyles and service. Offering stimulating programs in the arts, humanities, health, technology and volunteer service, Oasis brings people together to learn, lead and contribute in their communities. The Oasis Institute in St. Louis is the headquarters of a national network that serves a broad audience in 40 U.S. cities through nine educational centers and community partners. For more information, visit www.oasisnet.org.

I recently watched a feature on NBC’s The Today Show about an American loneliness epidemic and possible solutions. The Today Show piece focused specifically on creativity as a means to combat loneliness.

Since I saw that item, and watched it again, and again, a few thoughts came to mind regarding loneliness and older adults.  I think it is important to acknowledge the value of intellectual creativity through lifelong learning and to celebrate the resulting benefits, which include reducing loneliness and increasing socialization.

Within a few weeks of arriving at my job at the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) back in 2007, I ran into a gentleman named Arthur, someone I knew from the community. He had literally just lost his wife a few days before.  I embraced him and shared my condolences.  I asked if he was ok being back at class so soon after burying his wife. He replied, “I had to come back.  This is my family, where I belong.”  I knew he had blood relations nearby, so I was a bit confused, but kind of understood what he was saying.

Now, all these years later, I understand much better than I did then, why lifelong learning is such a critical component to the aging process and why organizations like NSU and Oasis mean so much, to so many people who are seeking purpose and meaning in their lives.

Both organizations have participants who are retired lawyers (we also have some judges), doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, business people, therapists, police officers, homemakers and more. These are experienced, intelligent people.  Retiring does not turn off that experience or intellect.  Such people are used to daily interactions with varying amounts of other professionals.  Suddenly not having that socialization can be a very, very debilitating event in their lives. When someone stops working, a social network is often lost.  While they may still be in touch with former colleagues, they are not having that day-to-day interaction, which is one of the reasons I am so enthusiastic about lifelong learning programs.

Experts in the aging field define “elder orphans” as Baby Boomers who do not have adult children, spouses, relatives or other support groups to turn to for assistance and help during their later years.  However, even when older adults have such people around them, they can still be lonely.  I have met way too many people who have families and other support, but are still basically alone.  Programs like the ones offered by NSU and Oasis offer not only intellectual stimulation, but also opportunities for vital socialization.

Occasionally I am invited to speak about our program and lifelong learning in general. Whenever possible I try to invite an LLI student to accompany me, and say a few words.  It is so much more interesting and poignant to hear students speak because of their passion.  They talk about how many new friends of all ages they are making, the new opportunities they never knew existed in their newfound free time and about how much more enriched they are from an intellectual and social perspective.

Hearing them speak warms my heart and gives me hope that one day, if I get to retire, such programs will still be around and supported as important cultural cornerstones in our society.

Linda E. Maurice, M.A., is Director of the Lifelong Learning Institute, at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Sally Coleman just wrapped up her first year as an Oasis tutor. When she discovered that Oasis also offers a wide variety of lifelong learning classes, she signed up right away and is on the lookout for more opportunities that pique her interest.

“You have to have that ‘what’s next?’ kind of attitude,” she says. “People who are the most successful are those who are willing to try new things. Those are the people who thrive the best. Oasis is a door for me. I could be with Oasis for the rest of my life.”

Sally’s sentiments reveal a lot about how she perceives herself and the world. At 77, she’s aiming for thriving, opening new doors and looking ahead with hope and excitement about growing. By volunteering and taking classes with Oasis, she meets people who share her “what’s next?” approach to life, and she inspires others to think about their own purpose. Oasis encourages older adults to make learning part of their lives every day, to pursue healthy living and identify themselves as change agents in their communities.

In the nonprofit sector, we tend to focus a lot on the “populations we serve.” The number of Americans age 65 and older is projected to double to 98 million by 2060. It’s a big number, one that gets a lot more interesting and exciting if we follow Sally’s lead and start using language that shifts the narrative from problem-laden to possibility-driven. We talk less about populations in need of service, more about people who can be empowered to serve.

This is happening across the Oasis network, as you’ll read in the 2017 Oasis Institute Annual Report.  I’m proud of the work we do to help thousands of older adults nationwide find purpose that improves the quality of their lives. The results are transformational.

Warmly,

Paul Weiss, PhD

President

The Oasis Institute