The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 Lessons from the book: From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks

Today, I’m continuing from yesterday to talk about the primary theme in this book - which is jumping off the fluid intelligence curve on the crystallized intelligence curve. 

Our fluid intelligence, which is our ability to reason, think flexibly, and solve novel problems, declines as we age, and if you’re in your 50s or 60s like most of you are listening to this podcast, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your fluid intelligence peaked decades ago. 

That’s the hard truth, but the good news is that our crystallized intelligence increases as we age. So if we can stop the futile exercise of fighting against the decline of our fluid intelligence, and look for ways to embrace and use our growing crystallized intelligence, we’ll be more fulfilled and happy as we age. In fact, the author notes that “the people who are happiest and most satisfied in their fifties, sixties, and seventies are those who made this leap [from the fluid intelligence curve to the crystallized intelligence curve].”

Knowing the types of activities and careers that utilize our crystallized intelligence most are key to successfully getting off the fluid intelligence curve and hopping on the crystallized intelligence curve.  That’s because, according to the book “if your career requires crystallized intelligence—or if you can repurpose your professional life to rely more on crystallized intelligence—your peak will come later but your decline will happen much, much later, if ever.”

Careers that involve teaching, mentoring, leadership, speaking and writing, are far more satisfying for us as we age, because crystallized intelligence is our ability to use a stock of knowledge learned in the past. So anything that allows us to share our knowledge and experience to teach others as we see noticeable declines in our fluid intelligence will be the most rewarding and meaningful. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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