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F R OM T H E F O U N D E R
It’s hell getting old – or is it?
Older folks bring perspective, patience, and gratitude to your firm, so think twice before you run them off from your company.
W e are visiting my mom in Kirkwood, Missouri, this weekend as I write this. My mother, Evelyn Zweig, is 101 years old. And right now she is taking a nap. She will be 102 in September. And, thanks to my older sister who lives nearby, my mom is still able to live in her own house – the one my siblings and I all grew up in – in Kirkwood. She can enjoy her own kitchen and eat what she wants when she wants. She can sit in her sunroom with the windows cranked open and enjoy a breeze if she feels like it. And she can tend to her yard and gardens when the seasons call for that.
Mark Zweig
My mom was a super hard worker her entire life and she took care of all of us – including my dad (and he needed a lot of taking care of, not because of any particular physical disabilities but because of his personality!). He was a handful by any standard, and liked to have things his way. He passed away nearly six years ago. It’s commonly accepted that getting old stinks, but as the expression goes, it beats the alternative. Yes, your energy does slowly wane. And yes, provided your mental faculties are still intact (and my mother’s are), it’s difficult to go though having your vision and hearing deteriorate. But that said, some things get better with age. One of those things is your perspective. Little things
don’t upset you like they may once have. You can learn how to better distinguish between what’s really important and what isn’t. And you also know that no matter what bad things are happening that they, too, will eventually pass. That perspective helps make you calmer. Another positive aspect of aging is you tend to become more patient. Patience was never one of my strengths as a young person but I’m much more patient today. Enjoy the journey (process), because the destination (end result) is rarely as good as you think it will be. Being patient allows you to be less frustrated, and less agitated.
See MARK ZWEIG , page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 2, 2022, ISSUE 1439
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