Good For Life

Musings on how to live with our mortality

Lately, a friend has been talking about “Good for Life,” as in “I’ve just bought a car that is GFL.” He means that it’s the last car he expects to buy and use in his lifetime, having reached an age where he’ll soon be four-score years old.

Good for life is a nice way of dealing with the concept of one’s mortality. While statistics show that life expectancy has increased in Canada, we know that there will come a day when—like Monty Python’s dead parrot—we will be bereft of life (but hopefully not nailed to a perch!).

Now, my friend already exceeds the Statistics Canada average life expectancy for Yukon men (75.9 years) and 81.47 for women. He’s smart about planning for the future, looking at how old his parents were when they died and figuring that he probably will do the same.

So don’t hold on to the old beater car. Get a new or newer one that will run happily for another 10 years. (Don’t bother with a 25-year warranty though.)

Taking a good-for-life approach makes sense for many of us older folks. Don’t pretend life is infinite: acknowledge your limitations and make the most of what you can, no?

It ties in with the to-do list we’re supposed to do as we get older, such as drawing up a will, preparing an Enduring Power of Attorney or figuring out what should happen to us health-wise and money-wise if we’re incapacitated (a.k.a. Representation Agreement, for money; and Advance Directive, for health in the Yukon). 

(This to-do list is not just for older adults, by the way. Younger folks should have one, too.)

While good for life is a bit of a countdown clock, we live with these all the time, at any age: the last mid-term I ever have to write at university; the brand-new condo that will never be brand-new again; and then there’s the “count-up” clocks—like the first time your baby smiles at you (the first of many to come). 

Good for life is also handy when trying to sort out what I don’t need in my life going forward. This is where activities such as Swedish Death Cleaning come in. By intentionally decluttering my home and belongings now, there is less for my loved ones to do after I die.

As humourist Art Buchwald once said, “The best things in life aren’t things.”

Is this frypan that I haven’t used in 10 years something that I need for the next 10? No! Oh, and look at that warm-but-ugly sweater that I got 25 years ago without knowing that it would be GFL and would keep me warm for the winters that remain.

Making conscious decisions about how you want to live your life can be hard work—and sad, even—but it also lightens the load mentally and physically, I find. 

Good for life fails when life changes, however. The Big C (cancer), the Big D (dementia), and major mobility changes can really alter one’s perspective. Something that wasn’t GFL before will suddenly do just fine, thank you.

And a good-for-now mindset is needed for those of us who want to age in (the right) place. My house is probably not GFL. I know that there may come a day when I need to move somewhere that provides meals and housekeeping because I’m no longer up to that.

The Yukon government (YG) recently published “Care and services as I age: A personal planning guide for Elders and Seniors”—a 16-page booklet that walks folks through their current and future needs and how they can address them. It’s available online on the YG website (yukon.ca/en/personal-planning-guide-elders-and-seniors). For Yukoners who are planning to age in place, it’s well worth checking out.

Good for now means you don’t know what the future holds, so you’re going to live each day with purpose, ready to roll with the punches when they come. A bucket list may help direct your actions, as it works without a deadline other than, well, one’s death. 

One thing I admire about my friend’s good-for-life attitude is that he makes the most of life. He is always trying something new and/or challenging. GFL doesn’t mean same-same, day-in-day-out stuck in a rut, but it’s an opportunity to do stuff before time runs out … to live a good life. 

A little GFL is good for all of us.