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Second innings

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LEAP - Learn, Enrich Accentuate & Perform
LEAP - Learn, Enrich Accentuate & Perform

Sometimes despite the very obvious, with age we fail to realize and acknowledge that some of our actions knowingly or unknowingly have significant impact on our as well others lives. One such wrong notion believed by people above age of 60 is that their interpretation of remaining fit as synonymous to being employed. This article does not offer any great insight rather it is an attempt to give new perspective to Declutter our mind. The views expressed in this article have no intentions of hurting the sentiments of older people rather it is an attempt to bridge the gap and to understand the obvious that aging is irreversible process and one must learn to age gracefully. Very soon I too will be starting my second innings.... Happy reading

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Second Innings Pretext: Sometimes despite the very obvious, with age we fail to realize and acknowledge that some of our actions knowingly or unknowingly have significant impact on our as well others lives. One such wrong notion believed by people above age of 60 is that their interpretation of remaining fit as synonymous to being employed. This article does not offer any great insight rather it is an attempt to give new perspective to Declutter our mind. The views expressed in this article have no intentions of hurting the sentiments of older people rather it is an attempt to bridge the gap and to understand the obvious that aging is irreversible process and one must learn to age gracefully. Very soon I too will be starting my second innings.... Happy reading “Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the life keeps moving. Life is a journey, not the destination.” - Paulo Coelho Continuum of life start with birth and ends with death with phases in between and as we move across the continuum we realize that aging has its bearing on us. Some of us try to stay towards the start of the continuum by keeping ourselves physically fit but no matter how hard we try we still are moving towards the other extreme of the continuum – the final destination. Most of us feel that remaining fit is synonymous to working. Fundamentally the notion of connecting physical fitness with working for any organization in itself is wrong. People above the age of 60 confuse their desire for seeking engagement with official working. Organizational working and work engagement are two different things and are not synonymous. As we age not only we experience changes physically we do experience lot of mental and emotional changes in our behaviour. Physical changes are visible and hence can be experienced easily as compared to the mental and emotional
changes that are invisible although mental and emotional changes have profound impact on our physical well being. The invisibility of mental and emotional changes causes the sense of insecurity, fear and anxieties making us believe that the only secret for remaining fit is to seek employment (organizational working) Why you should retire after 60? Reasons for suggesting retirement after the age of 60 are based on the research conducted worldwide but are still debatable. Introspection is prerequisite to accept or reject the reasons given below. It has been observed that following changes takes place physically, mentally and emotionally as we age: 1. Level of Expectation Increases 2. Level of Acceptance Decreases 3. Emotional and Psychological changes create feeling of insecurity & fear 4. Inflated Ego (Seek Praises, Recognition and Credit) 5. Strongly Opinionated (definition of rights and wrongs well defined) 6. Tendency to avoid risk with focus in maintaining status quo (Power & Position) 7. High risk of misuse of Power and Position (Exploitation) 8. Masked Identity (For hiding vulnerabilities) 9. Seek solace in group – comfortable with likeminded people 10.Difficulty in adjusting with young minds and their working style 11.Focus is on building personal relationship through biasness and favouritism 12.Predominance of personal work
What Second Innings mean? It is difficult to define in exact words and phrases however I have tried to give words to my expression of what second innings of life should be. 1. Stay Physically active NOT work active a. To stay active look for engagement. Join a community or group of your interest and spend time for the community work. Do not assume that your contribution is valuable to the business world. Although, if you strongly feel so then do air your views by writing for blogs and newspapers. In fact do all the things that you could not do when you wanted them to do. Do it now. BUT do not confuse yourself by interpreting that to remain active you need to be working with any organization. 2. Practice some form of Meditation a. Meditation to me is spending time with oneself and enjoying your own company. Though it seems easy but is very difficult to practice. We are wired to the belief that source of our happiness is external (in the surroundings) though in fact the real source of our happiness is deep within ourselves. When we spend time in our own company we experience flash back of events. Some experiences may be cherishing whereas others may not. Meditation is about recalling those moments purposefully that you cherish and replaying them by visualizing them without any judgement. This exercise brings more emotional stability and requires lot of practise. It is worth doing as it strengthens you emotionally. 3. You are culmination of rich experiences a. Remember that your life is culmination of rich and very valued experience, although it is possible that with fast changing time and cultural advancements your experiences might have lost their practical relevance. Accept this fact and instead of imposing your views rigidly share them with fluidity without being opinionated. Be empathetic when dealing with people of younger age. Be suggestive in your approach and avoid being sarcastic.
I suggest- Give yourself space and time you need rather than seeking it from others. Share your experiences with narration and keep it short and avoid repetition. Speak less and avoid pretending. You do not need to impress the people you have been for so long. They all know you and accept you well. Stay true to yourself and that way again RESPECT. 4. Regular life style gives emotional and psychological stability a. With age increase in physical and emotional dependency is very normal and by following regulated lifestyle one can stay both physically and emotionally fit and healthy. Mind is a very powerful tool provided to all of us and you know how to use it. With insecure feelings you tend to get involve in activities that are detrimental and cause more damage than good. I suggest - Know yourself and accept yourself. Stay away from self praise and deceptive appreciations. If you think you should work then work with people of your age and the best way is to volunteer for some reason or a cause. You may opt to become ADVISOR or CONSULTANT – a good choice that one has to make deliberately, by sacrificing the GREED and LUST for POWER and POSITION. 5. With power and position comes great responsibility a. As we age our Sense of Entitlement Increases with overall decrease in Sense of Accomplishment and in most of the cases it leads to increase in the probability of misusing the power and position (Emotional Exploitation and in some cases physical too) I suggest - If you feel the need or have the compulsion to work then seek opportunities where your power and position is not compromised. As people working under you will leave no stone unturned in giving boost to your sense of entitlement, to exploit your
vulnerabilities to the best of their advantage. They will do so because they are aware of your secret desire for Recognition and Praises (deceptive appreciation) 6. Aging is natural process a. Awareness and acceptance is key to CHANGE. Accept the fact that health will have a significant bearing both emotionally and physically as you age. Adjust your life style accordingly. I suggest - i. Wear clothes that suit your personality and your style and avoid wearing clothes which others suggest you should wear. ii. Speak the language that suits your age and never ever use slangs to get along with younger generation iii. Accept yourself the way you are and NOT the way others want you to be. 7. Opinionated a. As a developed personality one has the right to have their own definition of rights and wrongs BUT the problem arises when we believe in universal acceptability of our rules and regulations. After a certain age it is difficult to change behaviour out rightly but one can try to learn to accept others the way they are and not the way we want them to be. I suggest - Feel free to give advice but never impose your views. As we age we master the art of emotional blackmailing. Stay away from it. If something does not happen the you want it to be then avoid passing sarcastic remarks 8. Past Experience a. Experience matters no doubt but ONLY when it is relevant. With changing times the chance of your experiences losing their viability in today’s context are very high and you need to accept this.
I suggest - Temptation of sharing irrelevant experiences is hard to resist, still avoid blowing your whistle as it makes little sense. 9. Adjusting to the new working style a. One of the most valid reasons why I request people after age of 60 should retire is their difficulty in adjusting with the younger generation. The style and work culture of the younger generation is more process oriented, leveraging technology to the best. With young talent around you tend to feel THREATENED as they know how to get the work done more systematically and professionally. They are more updated and presentable. They have well groomed personality with good communication skills. They know how to work smartly as they want to spend time on things other than office. With age our sense of entitlement increases and overall sense of accomplishment decreases, whereas with younger workforce it is just the reverse their sense of entitlement is tightly coupled with sense of accomplishment. They believe in earning rather than deserving and this could possibly explain biggest issue faced by most of the organizations worldwide – Retention of Talent. I suggest – Become their Mentor. Do away the GREED for disposition and display of POWER and POSITION. 10. Predominance of personal priorities over official work a. The worst fear of aging is the insecurities. People working after the age 60 tend to prefer to exploit official resource persons in addressing their personal needs. When you seek favours from people you are bound to return favours and this leads to biasness and favouritism. I suggest – Work Life Balance is the key
Concluding Remarks: Soon I will also be the part of this brigade. Nevertheless I feel that we must learn to accept and welcome the change and move out of the system gracefully rather being asked to move out. I have read somewhere that when external rate of change is more than internal rate of change – Death is certain. Aging is irreversible process that we need to accept and move on. We have had our share of glory and now it is time for others to enjoy their share of glory. Merely saying that we had our share and still struggling for withholding the power position and money, makes no sense. At this age it is expected that our actions should speak louder than our words. Recommendations: (In case you still feel that you need or have compulsion to work) 1. Instead of taking a position in any organization seek to become the CUSTODIAN (Guardian). As a Custodian you become the guarding angel for the generation ahead. You no longer will have to prove yourself to other. You no longer feel threatened. 2. As a CUSTODIAN the nature of your job is more of an advisory nature where you use your experience and wisdom to guide the people who are less mature and experience. 3. You no longer hold the POWER and POSITION, so you no longer feel the danger of being exploited. 4. As a CUSTODIAN your job status changes – you no longer have your say in day to day affairs and decisions, however your perks and honorarium remain the same. 5. As a CUSTODIAN you are expected to give your suggestions in policy matters.
Easier said than done above recommendations do have its drawbacks and limitations: 1. You lose POSITION and POWER 2. You lose authority as DECISION MAKER 3. You lose all the FOCUS, GLORY and RECOGNITION Aging gracefully is a conscious decision that one has to take before being compelled to do so. Doing away with the GREED for POWER and POSITITON is decision that one has to take so as to gracefully work and guide the generations that comes. CA Vinod Kr Sharma

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Second innings

  • 1. Second Innings Pretext: Sometimes despite the very obvious, with age we fail to realize and acknowledge that some of our actions knowingly or unknowingly have significant impact on our as well others lives. One such wrong notion believed by people above age of 60 is that their interpretation of remaining fit as synonymous to being employed. This article does not offer any great insight rather it is an attempt to give new perspective to Declutter our mind. The views expressed in this article have no intentions of hurting the sentiments of older people rather it is an attempt to bridge the gap and to understand the obvious that aging is irreversible process and one must learn to age gracefully. Very soon I too will be starting my second innings.... Happy reading “Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the life keeps moving. Life is a journey, not the destination.” - Paulo Coelho Continuum of life start with birth and ends with death with phases in between and as we move across the continuum we realize that aging has its bearing on us. Some of us try to stay towards the start of the continuum by keeping ourselves physically fit but no matter how hard we try we still are moving towards the other extreme of the continuum – the final destination. Most of us feel that remaining fit is synonymous to working. Fundamentally the notion of connecting physical fitness with working for any organization in itself is wrong. People above the age of 60 confuse their desire for seeking engagement with official working. Organizational working and work engagement are two different things and are not synonymous. As we age not only we experience changes physically we do experience lot of mental and emotional changes in our behaviour. Physical changes are visible and hence can be experienced easily as compared to the mental and emotional
  • 2. changes that are invisible although mental and emotional changes have profound impact on our physical well being. The invisibility of mental and emotional changes causes the sense of insecurity, fear and anxieties making us believe that the only secret for remaining fit is to seek employment (organizational working) Why you should retire after 60? Reasons for suggesting retirement after the age of 60 are based on the research conducted worldwide but are still debatable. Introspection is prerequisite to accept or reject the reasons given below. It has been observed that following changes takes place physically, mentally and emotionally as we age: 1. Level of Expectation Increases 2. Level of Acceptance Decreases 3. Emotional and Psychological changes create feeling of insecurity & fear 4. Inflated Ego (Seek Praises, Recognition and Credit) 5. Strongly Opinionated (definition of rights and wrongs well defined) 6. Tendency to avoid risk with focus in maintaining status quo (Power & Position) 7. High risk of misuse of Power and Position (Exploitation) 8. Masked Identity (For hiding vulnerabilities) 9. Seek solace in group – comfortable with likeminded people 10.Difficulty in adjusting with young minds and their working style 11.Focus is on building personal relationship through biasness and favouritism 12.Predominance of personal work
  • 3. What Second Innings mean? It is difficult to define in exact words and phrases however I have tried to give words to my expression of what second innings of life should be. 1. Stay Physically active NOT work active a. To stay active look for engagement. Join a community or group of your interest and spend time for the community work. Do not assume that your contribution is valuable to the business world. Although, if you strongly feel so then do air your views by writing for blogs and newspapers. In fact do all the things that you could not do when you wanted them to do. Do it now. BUT do not confuse yourself by interpreting that to remain active you need to be working with any organization. 2. Practice some form of Meditation a. Meditation to me is spending time with oneself and enjoying your own company. Though it seems easy but is very difficult to practice. We are wired to the belief that source of our happiness is external (in the surroundings) though in fact the real source of our happiness is deep within ourselves. When we spend time in our own company we experience flash back of events. Some experiences may be cherishing whereas others may not. Meditation is about recalling those moments purposefully that you cherish and replaying them by visualizing them without any judgement. This exercise brings more emotional stability and requires lot of practise. It is worth doing as it strengthens you emotionally. 3. You are culmination of rich experiences a. Remember that your life is culmination of rich and very valued experience, although it is possible that with fast changing time and cultural advancements your experiences might have lost their practical relevance. Accept this fact and instead of imposing your views rigidly share them with fluidity without being opinionated. Be empathetic when dealing with people of younger age. Be suggestive in your approach and avoid being sarcastic.
  • 4. I suggest- Give yourself space and time you need rather than seeking it from others. Share your experiences with narration and keep it short and avoid repetition. Speak less and avoid pretending. You do not need to impress the people you have been for so long. They all know you and accept you well. Stay true to yourself and that way again RESPECT. 4. Regular life style gives emotional and psychological stability a. With age increase in physical and emotional dependency is very normal and by following regulated lifestyle one can stay both physically and emotionally fit and healthy. Mind is a very powerful tool provided to all of us and you know how to use it. With insecure feelings you tend to get involve in activities that are detrimental and cause more damage than good. I suggest - Know yourself and accept yourself. Stay away from self praise and deceptive appreciations. If you think you should work then work with people of your age and the best way is to volunteer for some reason or a cause. You may opt to become ADVISOR or CONSULTANT – a good choice that one has to make deliberately, by sacrificing the GREED and LUST for POWER and POSITION. 5. With power and position comes great responsibility a. As we age our Sense of Entitlement Increases with overall decrease in Sense of Accomplishment and in most of the cases it leads to increase in the probability of misusing the power and position (Emotional Exploitation and in some cases physical too) I suggest - If you feel the need or have the compulsion to work then seek opportunities where your power and position is not compromised. As people working under you will leave no stone unturned in giving boost to your sense of entitlement, to exploit your
  • 5. vulnerabilities to the best of their advantage. They will do so because they are aware of your secret desire for Recognition and Praises (deceptive appreciation) 6. Aging is natural process a. Awareness and acceptance is key to CHANGE. Accept the fact that health will have a significant bearing both emotionally and physically as you age. Adjust your life style accordingly. I suggest - i. Wear clothes that suit your personality and your style and avoid wearing clothes which others suggest you should wear. ii. Speak the language that suits your age and never ever use slangs to get along with younger generation iii. Accept yourself the way you are and NOT the way others want you to be. 7. Opinionated a. As a developed personality one has the right to have their own definition of rights and wrongs BUT the problem arises when we believe in universal acceptability of our rules and regulations. After a certain age it is difficult to change behaviour out rightly but one can try to learn to accept others the way they are and not the way we want them to be. I suggest - Feel free to give advice but never impose your views. As we age we master the art of emotional blackmailing. Stay away from it. If something does not happen the you want it to be then avoid passing sarcastic remarks 8. Past Experience a. Experience matters no doubt but ONLY when it is relevant. With changing times the chance of your experiences losing their viability in today’s context are very high and you need to accept this.
  • 6. I suggest - Temptation of sharing irrelevant experiences is hard to resist, still avoid blowing your whistle as it makes little sense. 9. Adjusting to the new working style a. One of the most valid reasons why I request people after age of 60 should retire is their difficulty in adjusting with the younger generation. The style and work culture of the younger generation is more process oriented, leveraging technology to the best. With young talent around you tend to feel THREATENED as they know how to get the work done more systematically and professionally. They are more updated and presentable. They have well groomed personality with good communication skills. They know how to work smartly as they want to spend time on things other than office. With age our sense of entitlement increases and overall sense of accomplishment decreases, whereas with younger workforce it is just the reverse their sense of entitlement is tightly coupled with sense of accomplishment. They believe in earning rather than deserving and this could possibly explain biggest issue faced by most of the organizations worldwide – Retention of Talent. I suggest – Become their Mentor. Do away the GREED for disposition and display of POWER and POSITION. 10. Predominance of personal priorities over official work a. The worst fear of aging is the insecurities. People working after the age 60 tend to prefer to exploit official resource persons in addressing their personal needs. When you seek favours from people you are bound to return favours and this leads to biasness and favouritism. I suggest – Work Life Balance is the key
  • 7. Concluding Remarks: Soon I will also be the part of this brigade. Nevertheless I feel that we must learn to accept and welcome the change and move out of the system gracefully rather being asked to move out. I have read somewhere that when external rate of change is more than internal rate of change – Death is certain. Aging is irreversible process that we need to accept and move on. We have had our share of glory and now it is time for others to enjoy their share of glory. Merely saying that we had our share and still struggling for withholding the power position and money, makes no sense. At this age it is expected that our actions should speak louder than our words. Recommendations: (In case you still feel that you need or have compulsion to work) 1. Instead of taking a position in any organization seek to become the CUSTODIAN (Guardian). As a Custodian you become the guarding angel for the generation ahead. You no longer will have to prove yourself to other. You no longer feel threatened. 2. As a CUSTODIAN the nature of your job is more of an advisory nature where you use your experience and wisdom to guide the people who are less mature and experience. 3. You no longer hold the POWER and POSITION, so you no longer feel the danger of being exploited. 4. As a CUSTODIAN your job status changes – you no longer have your say in day to day affairs and decisions, however your perks and honorarium remain the same. 5. As a CUSTODIAN you are expected to give your suggestions in policy matters.
  • 8. Easier said than done above recommendations do have its drawbacks and limitations: 1. You lose POSITION and POWER 2. You lose authority as DECISION MAKER 3. You lose all the FOCUS, GLORY and RECOGNITION Aging gracefully is a conscious decision that one has to take before being compelled to do so. Doing away with the GREED for POWER and POSITITON is decision that one has to take so as to gracefully work and guide the generations that comes. CA Vinod Kr Sharma