"Hope I die before I get old..."

…sang the Who and it’s probably one of rock’s most popular quotes. The truth is, though, that we are all living longer. Many of us may well work until we are well into our 70′s or even 80′s if the tabloids are to be believed. It is likely, though, to become a norm. Today, the UK government revealed a radical pension reform to help address the current crisis and the fact that more and more of us will retire later and be working for longer. I am not necessarily against working for longer in my lifetime – in fact I don’t really mind as I love what I do. And new research also shows that we become happier as we get older. By the time you are 70, if you are still physically fit then on average you are as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year-old, according to a new study from Warwick University. A new “culture” of aging is emerging, and a healthier, more active, and more productive aging process is going to ease the financial crunch that younger generations are feeling. And if 60 is the new 40, is 80 going to be the new age of retirement?? Even more important, then, to be doing something work-wise that you really love and that plays to your strengths.

Living longer is not necessarily great, though, if those extra years are spent suffering from poor health. Adrian Done says in his book “Global Trends” that the nature of our health problems is changing unexpectedly as a combined result of global ageing, urbanisation, globalized life style changes, accelerated worldwide transmission of communicable diseases and the higher burden of chronic disorders.

So, if we are to have any quality of life at all as well as work smarter, then it is much more important to live longer lives in better states of health. Part of developing personal competences and skills is an increasing awareness and responsibility for our own health. And it’s proven that if you are stronger physically, you are more likely to be resilient mentally too.

Resilience is a key skill we have to have. Our health and our lifestyles are linked to our inner resources and skills. For example, it is proven that if you want to build psychological resilience, starting with the body and building physical strength can drive this forward significantly. If we develop our ability to be optimistic, it is well known that those with optimism live longer and more healthily. And we also need optimism to face our lives and our futures with determination and vigour.

Many of the skills we need to strengthen have their roots in neuroscience and our brains. For example, we can actually develop what’s known as our ‘working memory’ and that this actually gets stronger with age. Why is this important? Our working memory is like a mental jotting pad that enables us to adapt and change our behaviour. Knowing that this improves with age, as opposed to declining, as traditionally thought, is a breakthrough and turns our view of ageing on its head.

Likewise, strengthening the body through yoga, Pilates, exercise and meditation has a strong impact on our mental capacity and is linked with our ability to demonstrate empathy, another key competence and one that we are hard-wired to have. Strengthening our bodies in this way has a positive effect on our ability to be resilient.

Personally, I have no expectation of retiring because I see my work as intrinsically bound up with my strengths and what I contribute to the world. Indeed, I see my work in phases of reinventing myself drawing on all the experience and skills I’ve gained over the years and becoming better and better at what I do.

A new book, The Advantage, redefines soft skills and the personal resources and competences we each need to develop to cope well in our fast-changing world. Published by Pearson Business March 7th, 2013, pre-order your copy here.