The world is conspiring to get you to conform – to be like everyone else.

Being like everyone else is reason to pause and reflect. Non-conformity is another hallmark of Emerson’s essay on Self-Reliance. Emerson says, “Society will whip you with its displeasure.”

It’s natural for us to feel ill at ease whenever we encounter another acting or thinking outside our own mental boundaries on what’s supposed to be.

The non-conformity of self-reliance refers to being self-aware and thinking for yourself. Being willing to examine all of your current beliefs — especially as it relates to what you believe living to 100 might be like, for example.

As you look out into the future and imagine living for 30 or more years, what are the thoughts and images that come to mind?

For many, thoughts of inevitable decline are a big concern. And no wonder, as we look around at our age contemporaries and those who’ve lived the path we’re on.

Conforming to being old the way everyone else is living in this next stage is comfortable. It makes us feel we’re not alone, like we belong somewhere. It feels easy.

At this stage, just like before, easy doesn’t always result in an optimal outcome.

You’ve heard or read about how important exercise — just moving your body — is for your future well-being.

While finding friends who are pushing themselves to move may be difficult. Are you pushing yourself to move as much today as yesterday?

You may intend to move your body every day. Until you track whether and how much you’re moving, you won’t know what’s actually happening.

Sticking with moving our bodies, take out a piece of paper and make some notes of reflection on how much you’ve moved as intended over the last week.

Making it a priority to move my body every day, as much or more than yesterday, feels like an act of non-conformity. I say that because I don’t have many role models for doing the same, especially people I know and see often in real life .

In almost all areas of life, we have to be nonconformists to avoid becoming stereotypically old.

Being old is not something that happens to you, rather it’s a state of mind one adopts. We don’t have to be a victim of aging by catastrophizing getting old.

Let’s look at dementia or Alzheimers, another fear many people have about getting old. One way to mitigate any risk you have in this area is to be learning new things and practicing. The science suggests word games and crossword puzzles are of limited value in mitigating the risk of mental decline as we age.

Practicing may take the form of sharing what you’ve learned and how you’re applying it in your own life with another.

In the work a day world, learning new skills or processes was challenging. Identifying something you want to learn and taking steps to make it so at this stage doesn’t seem to be what everyone else is doing.

I’m fascinated by all the things science has learned in the last 30 years about how our minds work. Putting some of that newfound knowledge to work in my life helps me understand what beliefs and habits I carry that don’t align with my intentions.

Belonging is just a thought that makes us feel safe . . .

Consider this your invitation to explore how seeking belonging and creating change don’t work as a set of priorities.

You create belonging wherever you go, but you have to step out of it first. It is necessary for you to give up the comfort of where you are currently. Be willing to give up the comfort of watching TV in favor of more exercise, for example.

You may not share the details of the latest episode with your current tribe. Instead, you’ll be busy creating or finding a new tribe of individuals who exercise more.

What are the changes you’ve seen in yourself over the last five years? Are those changes going to get you where you want to be at the end of five more years?

Let’s do a little reflection. What’s changed in the last five years besides us being five years older? People close to you may have died or been born. I’ve made new friends. Some of you may have still been working in the work a day world. You may live in a new community, state, or country. I’m living in a new community.

There are things I’ve had on my list of things I want for the last five years. I’m hoping I’ll make more progress with them in the next five years. Learning how to invest all the time I have now in a way that contributes to what I want to say at the end is a daily opportunity.

While we were in the work a day world, there was a joke going around. When we felt we were working too much or too hard, we’d muse that none of us would regret on our deathbed not spending more time working.

Now that working too much is no longer likely, where do you think you’re likely to have wished you’d invested more of your time in your decades of retirement?

Stop conforming to the conventional view of what retirement is. Strike out on your own to discover what this time can be.