Overturning the Stereotype of the Egocentric Boomer by Becoming More Worldcentric and Beingcentric
Baby boomers tend to be work-centric, independent, goal-oriented, and competitive. Suddenly we reach midlife or shortly thereafter. Life catches up with work. We get laid off or choose to leave the fast lane and experience health, caregiving, financial, and relationship challenges. As confident, independent, and self reliant as we were, we are now caught off-balance, with no older generation to guide us into fulfilling later years. Fear of death, illness, depression, memory degradation, and rising health care costs pervade our consciousness.
Where did we go to mangage stress in the 60s? Travel, adventure, and support groups. Where can we go now? Travel, adventure, and support groups - but in a different way. We now know how to travel through time and space, to experience adventure from home, and to connect our passions with the world's needs by identifying both internal and external sources of support.
Integral aging articulates the practice of aging with "grace and grit" (Wilbur). We forge ahead, drawing from Ken Wilbur's Interal Theory, Sunny Hansen's Integrative Life Planning Theory, Anna Tiedeman's Life-as-Career Theory, Jim Bright's Chaos Theory of Careers, and many other emerging theories and models. Our goal is to integrate our whole self (mind, body, and spirit) with family, community and world community. Our intent is to overturn the stereotype of the egocentric boomer generation by becoming more worldcentric and beingcentric, characteristics that are more typical of younger generations.
How we transform is crucial to this metamorphasis. Conversations emerge from a place of inner quietude, reinforced by a supportive physical and social environment. No more locked windows, stale air hotel rooms. In-person classes are held in environmentally friendly settings, rich with multi-sensory experiences. Real-time and asynchronous learning continues through distance delivered communication in the comfort of our environment of choice.
To make sense out of our aging exploration, we experience an orderly process, based on the learning theory of John Krumboltz, Richard Knowdell, and other process-oriented career leaders. Steps to the Integral Aging Wellness Process include the following: (a) self-assessment of strengths, (b) exploration of ways to become both more worldcentric (caring for the planet) and innercentric (caring for self), (c) goal-setting or intention-setting, (c) and implementation of goals through mapping out an action plan. The action plan includes starting or growing an integral aging business, enhancing one's current buiness with integral aging practices, or simply practicing integral aging in one's daily life. When fear of future or regret of past get in the way, we "walk the tightrope," letting ourselves experience the physicality of being in the present.
We welcome contributions of the Boomers and Beyond wisdom-makers in a one-hour "kitchen-table" conversation Tuesday, July 7, 2010m at noon. During the conversation, we invite you to drink a cup of tea accompanied by a lite bite from your cultural heritage.
About...
Sally Gelardin, Ed.D. (International & Multicultural Ed), has over 30 years experience in the fields of education and training. She has earned 12 certficates, including the National Certified Counselor, Distance Credentialed Counselor, Job and Career Transition Coach, Certified LeaveLight Facilitator, and Certified Job Loss Recovery Counselor. Sally was honored by the California Career Development Association with the Robert Swan Award for Lifetime Achievement in Career Development, and she received the California Counseling Association Service Award in Appreciation for Outstanding Leadership Contributions. Her work as an educator and counselor is based on her belief in the immense potential of all human beings to contribute their unique strengths to the world, no matter how old they are, their level of education, background, and challenges. She is an instructor and women's studies portfolio evaluator at the University of San Francisco; originator of the Careerwell tele-interviews with industry experts; author of three books on entrepreneurship, career and caregiving, and mother-daughter influences; former president and current board member of CCDA; and co-founder of the San Francisco Spiritual Eldering movement. MORE...
Gail Liebhaber has been involved in the field of career development for over 20 years as a trainer, consultant, coach and counselor. She has an M.Ed. with a specialization in career counseling and is a Licensed Social Worker in Massachusetts. She is a MBTI Charter Certified Practitioner for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Step I, II and III, the Strong Interest Inventory and the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior), and MSCEIT Certified Practitioner of Emotional Intelligence,(EQ). Gail completed a spiritual psychology training course at the Concord Institute in Concord, MA in 2003. Gail is a former director of career services at the Harvard University Divinity School and Design School. She established a private practice in 1994, dedicated to the mission of coaching adults through career transitions with effective and empowering results. Using a variety of tools and strategies, Gail counsels clients individually in life/work planning, job search strategies and work enhancement. MORE...