- Listen to Ron's Interview with Scott Fisher and Ben Green -
Healthy Psychosocial Habits We All Need to Age Well and Wisely
Episode Description:
About six years ago, as Scott Fisher and Ben Green approached their 70th birthdays, the challenges of aging loomed ever larger for these two lifelong friends. Both of us had known people who had reached their eighties and nineties with enduring vitality—but also family members and friends who seemed to have given up on life. Scott, an organizational psychologist, and Ben, a psychoanalyst, were curious about these divergent paths, so they decided to explore together what kept some elders going strong while others lost interest or drive, or both. And they were determined to learn as much as possible about how to make their own elder years as satisfying and fulfilling as possible. In today’s episode, we take a closer look at the outcome of Scott and Ben’s still developing journey—their forthcoming book called “The Aging Wisely Project.” This is their second appearance on 45 Forward, as part of a series probing the concepts in their book, which presents a powerful and immensely useful approach to help propel our understanding of aging forward, especially at a time when public perceptions about “old people” and their mental competence are often badly misinformed. The co-authors propose the emergence of a new, distinct developmental stage of elderhood, which they call “Elder Identity Revision.” Scott and Ben will talk about several critical psychological tasks we face during this period, such as dealing with the loss of control and competence in our lives. They’ll also delve deeply into some of the skills and attitudes (they call them “Healthy Habits”) to address these challenges. By strengthening these healthy habits, they explain, we can make a substantial difference in how we experience this stage of life. “The Aging Wisely Project” offers a compelling journey into old age, and by understanding the psychological tasks that await us—despite the inevitable setbacks—we can bolster our hopes and expectations for improved health and happiness—a meaningful, well-lived life.
Guest Descriptions:
Ben Green has been fascinated by psychological human development since his years at Yale College and went on to work for 40 years as a hospital- and then office-based psychiatrist for children and adults. Twenty years ago, Dr. Green became a child and adult psychoanalyst. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Science Center and has taught and supervised psychiatric residents for four decades. Dr. Green served as President of the Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society and the Denver Psychoanalytic Society. He has taught high school math in the Congo-Kinshasa for a year and spent a year at Yale Divinity School; he has had a longstanding interest in religion, humanistic-existential psychology, and issues pertaining to aging, meaning, and mortality, and has delivered community lectures on these subjects for many years. Dr. Green is happily married and has had three daughters and, recently, a grandson.
Scott Fisher has long been captivated by the factors that motivate people and the infinite ways they work to achieve their goals in career and in life. He received a BS in Organizational Behavior and MA in Organization and Management from Yale University. He served in executive positions in a variety of corporations and industries, leading human resources organizations dedicated to facilitating rapid growth and employee engagement. As a consultant and executive coach for more than 25 years, he worked with CEOs and their teams on strategy development and implementation, change management, culture assessment, and leadership development. For 12 years, he taught graduate-level courses in strategic human resources management and change management to MBA students at the University of Colorado/Denver School of Business. He is an avid yet mediocre golfer and enjoys travel and life with his wife and life partner.
Host:
Facebook:www.facebook.com/Roel-Resources-LLC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/ron-roel
X: @roelresources
Contact:
https://theagingwiselyproject.com/
Aging, wisdom, elder identity, healthy habits, elderhood
