Healthspan Tax?
The Optimal 80s: Reshaping Our Future in Four Words
One of the primary questions we obsess about in life’s second half is simple: “Do I have enough?” We make estimates, meet with financial planners, and run endless simulations. Well done. Valuable steps. And yet in a classic “forest for the trees” moment, we invest countless hours in financial planning while neglecting healthspan planning entirely!
Healthspan is quite different from lifespan, but for most of us, it’s the more important of the two. Lifespan measures how many years we maintain a pulse. Healthspan emphasizes how many years we are able to fully live inside those available heartbeats.
Financial plans are built around baseline net worth, various growth/loss scenarios and likely or planned expenses. Healthspan plans are built around baseline net fitness, various growth/loss scenarios and likely or planned pursuits. Both systems can be shaken. Markets crash. Bodies fail. Diagnoses arrive uninvited, and impact our best-laid plans. Fortunately, these are exceptions, not the norm, and still benefit from wise planning. Additionally, unlike financial plans, healthspan plans do not benefit from bonuses or inheritances. They are up to you.
Unfortunately, we often neglect the “span” element of our healthspan. During a recent Second Wind Collective discussion about potential foundational cracks, most individuals assessed their health as being “fine.” Then I mentioned the Optimal 80’s qualifier and everything changed. Eyes dropped. Silence.
The Optimal 80’s
While we may see our health & fitness as being adequate for today, healthspan planning - like financial planning - takes the future into account. Statistically, we lose 1-2% of our strength, fitness, balance, and function each year after the age of 40 - all things being equal. With our finances, we can adjust (e.g., earn more money, spend less). The healthspan plan allows for similar adaptations as we look ahead to the options we’d like to have available through our 80s.
One of those options is to plan to “spend” less (money and fitness) in our 80s. If our vision is one of sitting on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune, then that clearly doesn’t require much money or fitness. However, you’re not reading this if that’s your vision. As I looked around the room of our Second Wind huddle, it was obvious they didn’t either - and it reformatted how they saw their path forward.
All Things Being Equal
Rewind: the data indicates a 1-2% per year drop in fitness all things being equal. Those last four words provide the opportunity. Let’s say you’re reading this thinking “yikes - my current health equity is already over budget and underfunded. What do I do?” What would you do if you were facing this scenario with your finances? You’d take a close look at your budget, make the necessary adjustments, and get back on track. Your health equity budget is built around the Catalyst Cornerstones of Move, Fuel, Rest, and Connect so do the same here: assess each in this new light and adjust as needed.
Or maybe you’re in a pretty good spot with your current health equity balance. But you DO have a vision for living a full and purpose-filled life into your 80s. Hearing the 1-2% loss/year after the age of 40 means you may run out of (fitness) money before expected. Now what are your options?
Back to those opportunity-bolstering four words: “... all things being equal.” No - we can’t stop time and age is obviously a factor. But it’s not the factor. Studies on masters athletes demonstrate they are able to maintain fitness levels comparable to the general population 20 or even 30 years younger. Don’t settle for allowing all things to be equal. It’s 1-2% per year - you’ve got this! Add a few minutes/week to your strength training routine. Extend your swim/bike/run/hike by 5 minutes or integrate a walk into your daily rhythm. Just like with our finances, reformatting an annual 1-2% modification early is palatable. A 35% drop after 20 years... means bankruptcy.
Taxes on our Time
The potential cracks within the Foundational Four are never isolated. Time, money, health and purpose are intertwined throughout our lives. As we move into life’s second half, we’re often handed a “lump sum” of additional time. We then face a variety of ever-expanding taxes on our time based on the levels of health & fitness we bring into this phase.
Energy Tax - One of the greatest benefits of elevated health & fitness is the ability to fully engage throughout our 16 waking hours a day. Physical and cognitive fatigue represent an ever-expanding tax as we age. The fitter we are, the lower the tax on each and every task.
Property Tax - Property is valued by the function it provides. As our function declines — walking, lifting, climbing — we pay a higher tax in time. Everything takes longer, requires assistance, or slips out of reach. This tax rises for all of us eventually, but the longer we delay it, the more compound interest we earn on the tax savings.
Maintenance Tax - This cost of keeping a system - in this case, us! - functioning also grows over time. Trips to the doctor, therapy, recovery from surgery and more are a part of life’s second half. The more we maintain through this phase of life, the less this tax cuts into our available time.
The previous discussion about fate, destiny and free will comes alive as we ponder our healthspan and the role we play - right now - in opening the door to our optimal 80s. Martin Buber reminds us fate is a closed system, based on the worldview that our future is already written, leaving us no choice but to simply survive. Destiny, in contrast, is a dialogue, the interaction between circumstances and free will. Our future self - our optimal 80s self - is calling us from the horizon, asking for a response.
We can choose to ignore that call, settle in, and call it fate. Or - we can spring from the couch, answer the call, fully engage, and be drawn to that self beyond the self. Like the day-old donuts sitting at arms length, Option A can feel tempting in the moment. But I know you. You’re all in on Option B, because clearly, you’re not... done... yet!
PS - Dr. Cooper’s new project - The Catalyst Lab: Tiny Sparks. Enduring Insights. It provides 4 brief highlights (Explore, Discover, Leverage and Reflect) in a 60 second read. Access latest release here and subscribe (free) if you find a value. Thank you for your encouraging support. We hope it makes a positive difference.