Boomers Look Back on Life,Then Plan the Future
“Never look back!” we’re often told. “Look to the future.”
Do too many boomers look back on life and wish for what “might have been” or wish they’d made different decisions? Look back to learn, but not to wallow in the past, experience “the good ole days,” or to try reliving some events of the past.
If life hasn’t turned out the way you dreamed, the way you wished, the way others think it should have for you, what are you to do? Don’t beat yourself up because you made mistakes, others made mistakes, or something beyond your control happened. This is a natural tendency I’ve had to overcome and instead try looking to the future with hope, not discouragement.
I often think of my father, sitting with my husband and me when he was 91 years old. Even though his health wasn’t good, his mind was alert. He was planning future projects for his small business and his land.
“Am I foolish to plan for the future?” he asked.
“No,” we told him.
I realized that planning for the future kept my father going into his ninth decade. Even though he’d experienced discouragements, had had business failures, and still was facing life’s ups and downs, he was looking toward future projects. He died a few months later of physical ills he couldn’t control, but his last project helped ensure my mom of an income.
After his death, I learned how much he’d affected other people’s lives, the example he’d set and the encouragement he’d given friends and neighbors of all ages. All his life, in spite of discouragements, he’d planned for the future.
So, when life throws you and your business a curve, learn from it and plan for a future…of success.
(Image: sxc.hu)