Facing mortality due to illness can shift priorities, leading to a focus on spending time with loved ones and pursuing meaningful activities. Viewing cancer as a teacher rather than an opponent can help identify priorities and seek meaning in tough times, following Victor Frankel's concept that despair is minimized through finding meaning in suffering. This perspective can guide individuals through challenging experiences and ensure hope in difficult situations.
Growing old gets a bad rap, and it's not hard to see why. Your hair thins and your waist thickens. The shot clock ticks down on your career, and you realize, much to your dismay, that your youthful dreams of greatness — patents, prizes, and periodicals with your face on the cover — are unlikely to come true before the buzzer. And what do you see up ahead? A road sign. "Highway Ends. Last Exit: Retirement. One Mile." Retirement. Just a polite word for purposelessness. That's the cynic's view of aging, anyway. But does it have to be that way? Not according to Chip Conley ("Learning to Love Midlife"). He says midlife can be a period of renewal, hope, joy, and connection. If you're open to it. Are you?