From Strength to Strength

Most of our days, I am thinking me, me, me. It’s like watching the same dreary television show, over and over, all day long. It’s so boring. Faith forces me into the cosmos, to consider the source of truth, the origin of life, and the good of others. This focus brings refreshment and relief.

Cicero believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does no

Devote the back half of your life to serving others with your wisdom. Get old sharing the things you believe are most important. Excellence is always its own reward, and this is how you can be most excellent as you age.

“Is this work deeply interesting to me?” is a helpful litmus test of whether a new activity is your new marshmallow.

If you’re experiencing decline in fluid intelligence—and if you are my age, you are—it doesn’t mean you are washed up. It means it is time to jump off the fluid intelligence curve and onto the crystallized intelligence curve.

An intimate friendship, whether it be from the companionate love of your spouse or an Aristotelian “perfect friend,” is better than any professional success. It will salve the wounds of professional decline like nothing else.

Many in the last few years have taken a keen interest in the works of Epicurus, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. And not for intellectual reasons—they find secrets to the meaning of their lives therein, and it brings them happiness.

Today, Nicodemus is a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and, charmingly, the official patron saint of curiosity. No matter what your spiritual predilections, perhaps his transformation has lessons for you.

Satisfaction = What you have ÷ what you want

You can say this, too, but you need to start chipping away—managing your worldly wants—before more time passes. Remember, the longer you leave it, the further down your fluid intelligence curve will drag you, and the harder the jump will be.