I was recently having a “walk and talk” with a West Vancouver colleague, and the first thing he said to me was “the next 20 years will be my best 20 years.” It feels like I’ve joined a club – one where the admission requirement is reaching a stage in life where you start thinking seriously about the future, not just in terms of years but in terms of quality.
Lately, my group chats, social feeds, and casual conversations have been filled with book recommendations and podcast links—all on one topic: longevity. Peter Attia’s Outlive, Andrew Huberman’s deep dives into aging, Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones, and the latest from David Sinclair are making the rounds. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard someone say, “You have to listen to this episode on how to live to 100.”
And I am guilty. I made sure all our district leadership team had a copy of Peter Diamandis’ latest book, Longevity Guidebook: How to Slow, Stop, and Reverse Aging – and NOT Die from Something Stupid.
Is this just the latest intellectual trend, or is something deeper going on?
Is It Just Our Age?
Most of my friends and colleagues are in their 40s and 50s, a point in life where health isn’t just a background concern—it’s front and centre. We’ve started seeing parents and older mentors struggle with aging, some well and others not. We’re feeling the limits of bodies that used to bounce back more easily. And we’re realizing that the choices we make today will determine whether our later years are defined by energy and adventure or by decline and limitation.
Maybe we don’t just want to live longer—we want to live better. And in my role in education, I see parallels between this longevity movement and what we strive for in education: long-term thinking, sustainable systems, and a focus on well-being.
From Hustle to Health—In Life and in Schools
In our 30s, the dominant narrative was hustle. Build your career, raise your kids, achieve as much as you can. But at some point, the conversation shifts from success to sustainability (while still keeping a good dose of hustle). This shift isn’t just happening in our personal lives; it’s happening in education, too.
But now we’re starting to ask: How do we design schools where longevity isn’t just possible, but prioritized?
We talk about longevity in life, but what about longevity in leadership? In a profession where turnover is high, how do we help educators sustain their passion, energy, and well-being over decades? Just as I’m thinking about my own health, I’m also thinking about how we create schools where people can thrive for the long haul.
The Science of Longevity—and Learning
Many leading researchers predict we are just a few years away from major breakthroughs—anti-aging drugs, advanced diagnostics, and other innovations. The challenge? Taking steps now to ensure we’re around to benefit from them.
We are already seeing this shift in action—take literacy instruction in our primary grades, where new insights into cognitive development are transforming classroom practices.
Like health, education has moved beyond short-term thinking. It’s no longer about quick fixes or crash diets; it’s about systems that sustain well-being and performance over a lifetime.
A Shared Shift in Priorities
The longevity conversation isn’t just about physical health; it’s also about how we want to live. We are thinking more about meaning, relationships, and the kind of people we want to be as we age. The same questions apply to our schools:
- How do we build school systems that prioritize well-being, not just academic achievement?
- How do we create environments where students and staff can flourish for the long term?
- How do we make decisions today that will set us up for success, not just in the next five years, but in the next fifty?
So yes, maybe we’re all talking about longevity because we’re at that stage of life. But maybe we’re also just getting smarter about what matters—both in our own lives and in the way we lead.
Like my colleague said, “the next 20 years will be my best 20 years.” And if we get this right – not just in our personal lives but in education – it could transform how we think about learning, leadership, and well-being for generations to come.
As we rethink longevity in our own lives, how can we reimagine it in education—ensuring that our schools, students, and staff don’t just endure, but thrive for the long haul?
The image at the top of this post was generated through Magic School AI. Various AI tools were used as feedback helpers (for our students this post would be a Yellow assignment – see link to explanation chart) as I edited and refined my thinking.
