“Inertia” is a term from physics which indicates that physical objects have a natural resistance to any change in their state of motion (speed, direction, etc.). Inertia refers to the fact that a stationary object tends to stay stationary, while an object in motion tends to stay in motion – at its same speed and in the same direction. If we look at this from the standpoint of the human psyche we can see that human beings also have a natural resistance to change – be it thought, behavior, motion, or just about anything else for that matter. So, we too are subject to the laws of inertia (at least metaphorically). The implications for retirees are unfortunate, since it is my observation that most older adults seem to be striving for stability in their lives. The problem with this strategy is that once they are relatively stable, the tendency will be to stay that way until change is inevitably forced upon them.
I currently have 38 courageous older students (ages 52-80) who are attempting to proactively become a “Master” of their own aging process. The Dynamic Aging Program I am offering at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Furman University provides them with the knowledge, structure, and support to take a more informed and proactive stance towards their own aging process, and they are exceling at it – in spite of this human tendency to continue doing what we are currently doing.
Dynamic aging is all about change: change in speed, direction, comfort, capabilities, habit, behavior, and almost everything else except for our essential nature. My students have chosen to overcome their own inertia, and the social pressure to do what everyone else is doing, in order to systematically and proactively become as highly developed, flexible, adaptable, and changeable as possible. This is what is required if we are to optimize our aging process in today’s dynamically changing world, so why aren’t more people doing it?
Retirement is a Dirty Word
Most people who retire suddenly find themselves facing a whole new stage in life, with no outside definition of what it is they should be doing. So they usually do what they have always done, or what they always thought they would be doing after they retire: whether that is helping out with the grandkids, working on hobbies, serving on committees, helping others, working part-time, staying physically fit, playing golf or bridge, taking classes, relaxing, or having as much fun as they can. There is nothing wrong with any of these activities, but if this is all they are doing then what is the point of their lives? What is their meaning or purpose for living in this constant state of busyness until they can no longer function in these roles?
Obviously, if we give into our natural tendency to continue doing what we are already doing, this will one day become boring and otherwise problematic – but by this time it might also be too late to do anything about it. In the past, most people died shortly after retirement so this was not an issue. But today, with a healthy person’s life expectancy reaching 90 years or more, our past definition of “retirement” must change to reflect not only this reality of a longer life expectancy, but also the reality of a world that is changing around us at an accelerating rate. Retirement used to bring up visions of blissful peace, but now – given this new reality – it is a prescription for wasting the greatest opportunity a person will ever have for developing their unique potential as a human being. In my mind, retirement is now a dirty word, because the current images most of us have of retirement are completely inconsistent with the “truth” sitting right there in front of us.
I believe that people should be allowed to do as they will as long as they are not harming others, but the fact is most people who adhere to this false image of retirement are like a bunch of crabs in a pot of boiling water. They could easily allow the other crabs to use their claws to escape the pot, or they themselves could escape if that is what they wanted. Instead, they (along with a majority of their fellow retirees) prevent other people from escaping the pot by pulling them back into the boiling water.
This is normal crab behavior, so we can’t really criticize the crabs, but why do most older people resist the possibility of greatly improving the quality of their own lives and instead try to pull their more adventurous friends and neighbors back into their own state of inertia?
Mastery Has Inertia Too!
My students are courageous because they are pioneers, and pioneering is a lonely business – but they are also visionaries who have seen beyond the confines of so-called “normal” retiree behavior and are following what they view as a larger truth. And, the truth is if we want to flourish in this new reality, then we must become Masters of our own aging process.
If we want to be good at something we have to learn as much as we can about it, devise and implement practices to improve our skills, eliminate any obstacles, expand and develop our minds and hearts to accommodate a greater sense of Self, and then continue on in our quest for mastery in spite of hardship, plateaus, or a lack of support from others. This is the Path of Mastery – and in this case what we are trying to master, and thereby optimize, is our own aging process. Once we are on this path, then we might want to stay on it for good, because leaving this path is not so easy once we are on it (a body in motion tends to stay in motion), and if at any time we do decide to permanently jump off the path it will be even more difficult to get back on (a stationary body tends to stay stationary).
Inertia obviously works both ways. Once a person sees the truth about their retirement and begins to act upon it, they will increasingly grow and develop in a positive direction, become more open and adaptable, change what they are doing, how they are doing it, and move continuously towards what Abraham Maslow called Self-Actualization. Once a person is on this Path, the tendency will be to stay on it. In fact (and this is where the laws of inertia begin to change when applied to human systems), the tendency will be to continually escalate our personal rate of change – not only to match the accelerating rate of change in our environment, but also the positive changes we experience through this process will reinforce our more dynamic approach to retirement and motivate us to accelerate our efforts.
So, mastery is also subject to the laws of inertia, but instead of ultimately harming ourselves by trying to remain stationary and doing very little to optimize our aging process, we will find ourselves increasingly engaging with new people, new ideas, and new ways of doing things. Life will be exciting again – like when we were children and everything was new. We will continually be growing and developing, and moving forward in our lives – in spite of the physical problems associated with old age that ultimately and inevitably arise.
Inertia might be a natural state for human beings as well as other physical objects, but only humans can make the choice of which end of the inertia continuum to be on. Choose wisely, or you will have no one to blame but yourself.
Love, Dudley