Why Adventure Matters in Long Working Lives

In my ongoing exploration about the patterns and changes in how people approach their working lives, I have found myself looking back at my own memories from over five decades of work. What stands out is not simply the steady progression of roles and achievements but the disproportionate impact of recurring moments of adventure that took me far beyond my usual experience.

At the time, these adventures each felt uncertain and, sometimes, even disruptive. More than that, they sat outside any clear narrative of progression. They did not register as forward movement. If anything, they felt almost indulgent: hitchhiking as a graduate student to Israel to research child-rearing practices in a kibbutz; traveling through Peru and Bolivia in my 30s; later, in my 50s, exploring countries across Africa; and now, in my 70s, journeying to India to better understand its religions.

Looking back, though, I now see these not as diversions from my working life. Instead, they were among the experiences that most shaped it.

Please select this link to read the complete article from MIT Sloan Management Review.