On Friday, I blogged about the film “A History of Violence”, and how the boomer mom of two children still fits into her high school cheerleading uniform. Is this—and the attendant imagery of extraordinary boomers jumping from airplanes, looking younger than their daughters and so on –reflective of our generation’s true aspirations?
My colleague Dr. Jimmy Smull and I did a research study of 100 well-educated, high performing leading edge boomer women who are on the path to achieving what they defined as meaningful lives, regardless of the circumstances they were facing. Precious few still fit into their high school clothes—nor wanted to. They did have dreams, however. And yes, there were quite a few who wanted to do some form of adventure travel, who look great for their age and so on. But you want to know what the biggest dream was for many of them? To give up overachieving.
We’re talking about women sandwiched between children who have become petulant teenagers or young adults, and aging parents who require of them that they be somewhere on the spectrum between caretaking and mourning. They are still working and still as stressed as ever. On top of that, they are inspired by the notion of leaving a legacy—the largest demographic in the contribution and volunteer segment. And nevertheless, as one of the most powerful, stunning (and probably still fits into her cheerleading skirt) recently said to me: “When I read these studies of how happy and vital we all are, I wonder if I’m the only one who is somehow missing the boat?”
These women do not need to hear from Hollywood and the marketing community that if they use any particular product or service, they can yet be all they can be. They are, rather, yearning to be acknowledged for who they already are, which—as committed, courageous, resourceful grown-ups who have struggled through life’s challenges and have lived to tell the tale—is achievement, enough. In brief, get a clue: we are ready to be lauded not prodded. Now, this would be a plot twist worth applauding!
Carol Orsborn
Comments (1)
this blog post really resonated with me and mirrored many of the findings reported this week by Anne Thompson over at MSNBC
Kudos on your recent book, study and this blog
- Kare, Savvyher.com
Posted by Kare Anderson | December 14, 2006 4:29 PM
Posted on December 14, 2006 16:29