About two years ago, the results of an interesting survey were released. The survey studied 97 people who had lived to be more than 100 years old. The belief was that if there were any characteristics that every one of these individuals had, these characteristics might prolong life.
After a comprehensive survey of each individual, researchers were surprised to find four common characteristics in every single one of the 97 centenarians (a fancy term for 100-year-olds!)
They are:
1. Positive Perspective
Each tended to view the world for what it was instead of what it was not.
2. Physically Active
Each of them still exercised on a regular basis.
3. Emotional Coping Skills
All 97 of them had found a way to capably deal with personal loss. At 100 years of age, many people who are important to you will have passed away.
4. Future Plans
They weren’t finished yet. Each of them had projects they were working on currently as well as others waiting in the wings.
These individuals all had things left to do. Make no mistake about it: this is the key to real human motivation. People who are busy building their dreams have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. People who are actively pursuing personal plans have vitality, passion and a zest for life that fuels personal happiness, health and self-esteem.
It appears that career and life planning can have incredible life-giving powers. This makes personal planning and implementation of those plans the central theme of all we do in any career development program.
