Look Ahead With Goals in Mind

If you could have a convention of baby boomers, what would the faces look like? If you could gather together the 78 million baby boomers, what would their composite profile look like? If you could talk to just one baby boomer, what would you learn?

The baby boomers of 2016 come in all shapes and sizes. They come from all walks of life and face different challenges. But one thing that many have in common is that they are trying to establish a vision for the remainder of their life.

While they will go about defining that vision with different sets of objectives, their overall mission is clearly to establish a path forward. While all baby boomers don't share the same specific goals, they are all, in some shape or form, trying to establish what is most important to them.

What factors contribute to the formation of baby boomers attitudes? What shapes their thought patterns? What are the influences that lead a baby boomer to pause for reflection?

Much of what shapes the mind of the baby boomer is brought about by the circumstances around them. If you hear from an old high school friend who is dealing with cancer, it may bring about a feeling that life is fleeting, and the idea that perhaps it is time to do the things that you have always wanted to but haven’t gotten around to yet.

If your father has recently passed away, leaving your mother to face four walls alone, without a sense of purpose, this may lead you to re-evaluate your career path. You wonder if you should substitute caregiving for continuing to climb the corporate ladder.

Or maybe, as a baby boomer, you are now just simply tired.

While you might have had a successful work life, you now ask yourself the question, Have I missed out on life? Of course some baby boomers don't have the privilege of such philosophical thought.

Too many baby boomers have not saved enough, are still stuck with credit card debt, and their adult children are more dependent upon them than they should be.

Some say a positive attitude is all you need.

Some say to just have confidence because God will provide for you.

Some even utter the misguided phrase, "it is meant to be." But for this type of baby boomer life is taken just one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, while struggling to find that "silver lining” to replace the feeling of despair.

John Edwards, whose candidacy failed after being derailed by scandal, might have actually had a valid message when he said that "there are two Americas." 

Baby boomers, representative of the population as a whole, are in fact a generation divided by an economic chasm.

But despite the disparity in money and financial spreadsheets, most baby boomers share a common desire: they want their golden years to be happy, healthy, and secure.

So this brings us back to our fictitious baby boomer convention. What would the baby boomer say at that convention, or what would the baby boomers living next door say?


They are likely to tell you that the answer lies in the basics, that as you look for the path forward, keep in mind that it has always been your family, friends, and a set of past and present experiences that have given your life meaning.

Rick Bava founded and was CEO of the Bava Group, which became the premier communications consulting firm serving the Fortune 500 community. Bava became known for his popular blog columns “Rick Bava on the Baby Boomer Generation.” He is the author of "In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation." For more of his reports, Go Here Now.