Stages – ElPropósito5 min de lectura

What is the best stage of all?

The saying "the good old days were always better," whoever first said it, has always caught my attention. What interests me most is what it means and whether it holds true. I have no doubt that past times had their place and their moments, and the saying leads me to a question: what is the best stage of our lives? Professionally, I have had the chance to work with and watch many companies fight tirelessly to stay in the markets they serve. Those organizations are made of people, and one thing that strikes me powerfully is what stage of life those professionals are in, and how the sum of their minds also places the organization in a unique stage of its own. It is interesting how everyone on a team is at a different stage, some just starting their careers and others wrapping them up. So the question becomes: could two people at different stages of their professional and personal lives both be at their best? Is one stage better than another? Is there anyone who feels they have always been living their best stage, as if it were one continuous stretch? How can we make sure no stage is better than another, so that life is one single stage? I see four ingredients that make every stage the best one, or that turn life into one single stage.

Attitude. Somewhere I read a line that marked me for life: "The soldier who goes to war thinking he will be killed is the first one shot in the head as he climbs down from the truck." A grim, dark and shocking line, yet it is how I came to understand the meaning of attitude toward life, toward adversity and whatever lies ahead. From Stoicism I have also learned to focus on what is within my control and let go of thoughts about what is outside it. Attitude is a sense of responsibility that goes beyond responsibility itself, which is why my favorite English word is accountable. Its Spanish translation does not quite capture it. To me it simply means I own both the result and the lack of one. I must pay the bill for what I long for and also for what I fail to achieve, through laziness, say, or irresponsibility. Attitude, at any age, may be the factor that most shapes whether we feel the stage we are living is the best of all. I always like to say it is good to start by defining our purpose and then act through it, and yet neither action nor purpose comes before attitude.

Action. Every stage of our lives involves action. If we do not move, nothing moves. We are responsible for our own actions, and this is where I believe one of the greatest human frustrations and resentments takes root: the idea that someone else should act on my hopes and wishes. That is a lie, and it is the main source of resentment. Waiting for someone else to act for us is a clear abdication of personal responsibility. I am not saying we should turn down what others do on our behalf that may benefit us. On the contrary, I have always wanted God to find me working. While I strive to build what I want, if someone else wants to give me a hand or a push, wonderful, and welcome. Paraphrasing Newton, who established that every body will preserve its state unless compelled by another force, nothing will move unless we move. So if we want every stage to be the best, even on our deathbed, we have to move, we have to act, or better yet, we should have started moving 20 years ago. The question is: what actions must we take today for the future stage we want to come?

Caring for ourselves and for others, mentally, physically and spiritually. At every stage of life, one essential factor is caring for our well-being, which means recognizing that mind, soul and body all play a fundamental role in our health and in the health of others. Trying to live any stage to the fullest at the expense of our body, or of either of the other two, is simply a recipe for missing out on every stage that follows. Habits play a crucial role in caring for ourselves and others, and none of the three areas we must look after matters more than the others. Mind, body and spirit all deserve proper attention, which is why work-life balance stands out so much here. This is exactly where we need to find a balance that keeps that essential triad steady. When we care for one more than the others, something falls out of balance, and that is where many misfortunes arrive.

Finally, and by no means least, the best stage of all is the one lived with purpose, which is simply always seeking to contribute to something greater, to that objective of objectives. If we want to live with the feeling that the stage we are in, whatever our age, is the best of all, we need to live with a clear, defined purpose.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. I dedicate this post to my dad on his birthday, someone from whom I have learned to move through life’s stages quickly and to live every one of them with a deep sense of commitment. A big hug with all my love, Dad. May God and the Virgin bless you, and may you have 100 more years.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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