Baby Boomers Coping with Middle-Age Crisis
Kids love having birthday parties. Their parties are usually filled with games, great food, clowns, gifts, and many more. Celebrating ones birthday is an important occasion that should not be forgotten. You can't remain as a child forever though. As years pass, you will grow older. With older people, celebrating their birthday is different. Another year will again be added to their age, and this thought can be creepy to some individuals.
When a person turns 40, he is already in his mid-life. There is this phrase which says 'life begins at 40'. Although to some it may be true, others have different experiences. People who enjoy life even past their forties were able to overcome their fears of aging. But those less fortunate are having troubles in living a meaningful life.
When one enters midlife, he must be able to cope with drastic changes in life. These changes are inevitable, and all people will go through this stage. He should be able to deal with mortality issues and aging which are but natural aspects in being human. If you can't cope up with the change, you're bound to suffer a major shock in your life. And this will not only affect you as an individual, but also your family.
When baby boomers were young, they didn't trust older people. But now that they have reached the midlife age, what do they have to say? People mature, and so did the baby boomers. They have long realized that life is not about having fun at all times but also living a meaningful life which can contribute to the improvement of the society he belongs in. The ages 40 to 60 are considered part of midlife, and many people undergo a midlife crisis when they reach this stage in their life, and baby boomers are not exempted from this change.
You may freak out as you face the mirror, and you will start to notice your thinning hair, flabby skin, facial lines, and other aging signs. Almost every person wants to look good, and the least things that they want to see are aging signs. Many people are not yet ready to face this fact, and they still want to believe that they are still desirable and young. Acceptance of the situation can be very hard for them. But this should not be; youthfulness will not last long so you might as well enjoy while you have it. Time will come when you will start aging and you can't do anything about it. Even if you try to use anti-aging products, you're still getting old.
A lot of married couples are having difficulty during this time, even the baby boomers. The situation is even worse if both of them can't cope with their aging. Another change is in their emotional needs, and their behavior. They will likely end up in a crisis that may lead to divorce. This is true especially if one partner has found acceptance and love from another person.
Not all married baby boomer couples end up with divorce. There are also those who have a strong marriage foundation and are able to cope with the changes. Statistics show that only about twenty to twenty five percent of couples in their midlife suffer from any crisis. And the rest are taking the situation lightly, as if nothing has changed.
Being in your midlife is not an excuse to exhibit wrongful behavior. If you're in a crisis right now, your option is putting your life on the right track again or turning to another direction. It would all depend entirely on you; but you should also be aware that it is not you alone who suffers from this situation, but also your love ones.
Upon entering middle age, you should be able to recognize mortality. You should deal with sags, wrinkles, bags, graying hair, balding, weight gain, and death of relatives or friends. This is indeed a tough time for you; but life should not end there. If you can successfully cope up with the situation, life will and can go on.
Baby boomers love challenges in life. They are quite aggressive and as they finally reach their midlife, they will start to live a meaningful and productive life.
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Many Baby Boomers are Close to Retirement, What Will They Do?
When people get old, they need not work. They should enjoy the rest of their lives having fun and worrying about nothing. But ever since baby boomers were born, a lot of changes have taken place in each milestone of their life. And now that they are close to retirement, can you imagine them staying at home and doing nothing at all?
With their unique characteristics, baby boomers were able to redefine and reshape the society as a whole. They certainly made an impact before, and probably they will again for the years to come. Of all baby boomer population, about 76% of them intend to stay in the workforce even after the age of retirement.
Baby boomers tend to make decisions that make them different from other generations, and they never outgrew this trait. Now that they are retiring, they are sure to make a big personal decision. They have to choose between retiring or to keep working. But if you're talking about a boomer, he will probably choose the second alternative.
To many old people, retirement is an end-point. But with baby boomers, it's the turning point of their lives. But this doesn't mean though that it's all work. Some of them want to work part-time while others want to put up their own businesses. Some boomers want to have a leisurely time away from busy schedules after many years of working; one way is to travel to other places. This will not be a problem because they have all the money to spend for luxurious trips.
These various decisions of baby boomers may be because of certain external factors. You are probably aware that baby boomers make up a huge number of the population. If they all retire, the workforce will be greatly affected and the state will not be able to handle all claims for benefits. Other factors include:
1. Longer life; because of the new technology that many people enjoy, boomers can live longer and this means another twenty years or so of incurring expenses; if they will live longer, their resources will not be enough to sustain their needs
2. Less pensions; companies offering pension plans want to have their plans changed and to reduce benefits; this does not give baby boomers enough time to make savings because they are near retirement already
3. Medical costs; medical costs will continue to rise, it even outpaced inflation; from now, many companies are expecting a 10% increase yearly of boomers looking for services or products where they can pay/save on medical services/cost.
Considering these factors, the baby boomers are sure to make a different decision once they retire. They can't rely on their family for support, especially if their children have a family of their own.
The retiring of baby boomers is not just an issue for the baby boomer, but also for the entire state. Boomers make up today's economy. They represent a large percentage of the workforce and they were responsible for the economy's growth during the 1990s when boomers were at the peak of their spending years and careers. If they all leave the workforce, what will happen to the economy?
The US and other countries with baby boomers are finding it necessary to address this situation. And at present, they now have plans on how the economy can cope up with such situation.
The aging and retiring boomers are a lot different from the previous generation of old people. Boomers love vacation homes, cosmetic surgery, skin creams, and other stuff which helps them to stay youthful. These industries can expect a huge increase on their sales because of patronizing baby boomers.
As baby boomers reach their retirement age, they have to make a sound decision whether to continue working or to simply stay at home and wait for their pension every month. But knowing a boomer, he already has a well thought-out plan of his future after retirement.
Boomers are often seen as individuals who are more on the 'I' side of things. They focus more on their 'self' and not on other people. So if they think that retiring or pursuing another career is best, he will stick to his decision. And no amount of convincing can change his decision once he has his mind made up.
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