Advice for Recovery
04/20/2020
As difficult as it is to believe right now, we must all have hope that the United States and the world will eventually recover from this global pandemic. We will, however, likely be living under very different conditions in the near future -- what many are referring to as the "new normal." One can foresee, for example, an increased emphasis on social distancing, mask-wearing in public and the inevitable demise of the familiar handshake.
How will our lives as Boomers be different? Older Boomers who collect Social Security and are already on Medicare were probably relieved to have those safety nets in place during the pandemic. Still, their retirement savings have no doubt been battered. It could take years to rebuild the value of those investments.
Older and younger Boomers alike have been affected. If you were employed previously, you may have been laid off from your job. Post-pandemic, you may lose your job permanently. If you owned a small business or were part of the gig economy, you may have seen your income dry up or even had to shutter your business.
The hard truth is many of us had finally recovered financially from the 2008-2009 recession. We were probably on pretty solid ground until the coronavirus crisis hit. Suddenly, it obliterated our security.
So how do you find a way to pick up the pieces now? I don't claim to have any easy answers. I won't flood you with platitudes that you may find elsewhere.
But I do believe that given our collective experience, Boomers are generally better at facing and overcoming life's challenges. Why? Because age provides perspective... and we are generally a very resilient bunch. We have lived through downturns and upheavals and survived. Many of us have learned important lessons as we age: Being able to live below our means, valuing the little things in life, expressing gratitude for family and friends. Even in the midst of the global meltdown, I'm grateful for what I have.
So we will cope. We will stay positive. We will find a silver lining in this crisis. We will not allow it to steal our vitality and our exuberance for life. We will recover and prevail.
The road to recovery may be long. Some things in our country will need to fundamentally change for the better. But we have only to look at the selflessness of front-line workers and the countless acts of kindness displayed during this pandemic to recognize that the human spirit is alive and well. That will carry us forward.
HappilyRewired.com is a Top 75 Baby Boomer Blog.
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I agree, boomers have more experience dealing with adversity which perhaps makes us more resilient than a lot of younger people. We know “this, too, shall pass.” We have learned to be patient and to stay hopeful. Things will not be the same after the pandemic but hopefully we go forward having learned some important life lessons.
Posted by: Julie Gorges | 05/01/2020 at 02:38 PM