To Inspire:

Two weeks ago, we shared insights from the book, JOYSPAN: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half. The author, gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnnight, shared that joyspan reflects an understanding that it’s not just the number of years we live (lifespan), or even the number of years we live in good health (healthspan), but how many years we truly enjoy living (joyspan).

Kerry shares four essential actions or elements that enable one’s joyspan:

• Grow – our determination to continue to grow as a person;
• Connect – our dedication to building meaningful relationships with other people;
• Adapt – Our desire and ability to adjust to life’s inevitable challenges;
• Give – our willingness to share ourselves to enrich the lives of others.

In Part II of the book, Kerry identifies how each of those strengthens our joyspan. Here we’ll look at the first element – Grow. To quote from Kerry’s book:

“Growth is the desire to explore, learn, and have new experiences. Lifelong growth is a key predictor of how we’ll age and without continued growth, we default to stagnation – a stunting or lack of development in physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being. Stagnation leads to feelings of disconnection, boredom, and a sense of purposelessness.”

She goes on to share that the foundation of lifelong growth is “self-acceptance – the ability to recognize all aspects of yourself (strengths and weaknesses) without self-criticism. People with greater self-acceptance are more resilient and have less anxiety and depression. When you learn to accept yourself, you can pursue growth without feeling diminished by setbacks. A proven way to increase self-acceptance is mindfulness, simply being present with yourself and your surroundings. Another way to increase self-acceptance is the practice of gratitude – which shifts your focus from what is lacking to what is already present and valuable.”  David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk, wrote, “the root of acceptance and joy is gratefulness.” By practicing gratitude, we cultivate an appreciation for ourselves as we are, seeing our lives as sources of richness and growth rather than as incomplete or flawed.

As we go about our day, let’s practice these habits of personal growth – being mindful of the amazing gifts each of us are and being grateful for so many blessings.

Live with joy – live with joyspan!

Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-Founder