Last week, the agency that I work for, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lost over 27,000 years of experience when about 1,000 people voluntarily retired early. Among those were several of my mentors that helped me to get where I am today. Each one brought a different perspective and gave me new tools to put in my toolbox.
I recently heard a clergy member describing how we think about things that are 100 years old. In the context of people, he said, we think of someone who is 100 years old as frail and brittle and perhaps of little relevance. When we think of organizations and buildings that achieve 100 year status, we celebrate them as being strong and standing the test of time and valuable.
Nothing has taught me more about life than my time spent traveling and living in different places. By staying in our routines and continually seeing the same things over and over we become less open to the possibilities that are out there in the world.