The Arc of Life

This was first shared on The Resilient Leader’s Podcast.

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I recently finished reading a book by Jon Tyson, The Intentional Father, and he talked about the arc of life. I found it to be a helpful and important perspective on life that I believe is valuable enough to share with you.

Female leaders – and I know there are many female leaders who read this blog – don’t tune out or turn it off. I think this has some insight and implications for you as well, even though this may relate directly to the male experience.

• High school: exposing – exposing us to life.

• College: learning – learning about life.

• 20s: growing. Figuring out who you are as a person and getting better at that. A decade of intense growth.

• 30s: editing, because you’re finally getting a sense of what your cost is.

• 40s: mastering. You still have energy, and it combines with a bit of idealism about how your life in the world should be.

• 50s: harvesting, a decade when you can hopefully begin bringing in the results of decades of previous life’s work.

• 60s: guiding. You’re beginning to turn your attention away from yourself and taking notice of the generations after you.

• 70s: importing. Consciously taking everything that has been deposited in your life and pouring it out for others, preparing to leave your legacy behind you.

• 80s: savoring.

• 90s: preparing to reach the finish line and closing up loose ends.

That’s a lot of change throughout life with what we focus on.

Which means that: life requires resilience.