The older I get, the more I…. (That should be a web series right there!)
The older I get, the more I seem to appreciate concerted effort rather than the outcome. For I have seen more people fail to succeed in the ways they wanted to, and yet grew in ways that success may not have taught them. But in time they became successful people.
That makes me sound like one of those management gurus who profess to fix your problems. But not quite. Where I am coming from is from an aging perspective.
The difference is, looking back at life, I have always liked the concept of human beings undertaking difficult things to achieve great things. Overcoming obstacles and all that. When younger, call it the arrogance of youth, or the fresh optimism of youth, there was a sense of setting your sights and then going about doing your best to achieve it. If you didn’t, you simply tried harder, or realized your limits and got your ego pegged down a bit. It all seemed straightforward enough.
Now, it doesn’t seem so easy. Anything requiring concerted effort seems harder.
So, what gives?
Maybe it is because there are more demands on our time and energy, and we have less t & e as we age. Before I try to create a formula for that messy statement, what I am trying to say is: Everything seems harder because of the tug and pull of prioritizing what one wants to do versus what one must.
The demands of society, earning a living, generational demands – many of us are caretakers for not just our generation, but the younger and older ones as well – they all take up time. Suddenly, the ability to carve time out for one’s pursuits takes on an almost selfish angle. (It isn’t). In fact, I’d argue that this time is necessary so that we may bring our better, happier selves to the harder tasks of life.
In areas related to unconventional thinking or muscle patterns such as swimming, learning a new instrument or dancing, age seems to be a definite barrier.
To those hard friends: Courage & Discipline
Therefore, it is with admiration that I cheer those of my friends and family who do set their sights and go for it with the promise and optimism of youth. Whether it is arangetrams or long cross-country bike rides or backpacking across mountains, or an educational degree. The achievement seems loftier because the discipline required seems higher, the distractions more, the tug and pull of daily life far more restive.
I saw this post on social media once (Paraphrasing as the original wording was more concise): Anyone who has been a dancer will never make fun of someone trying to be one, a professional athlete will never make fun of someone joining the junior league. The judging only comes from someone who has never tried anything.
And isn’t that true? I found myself nodding vigorously at that – how some folks manage to discern these truths, and then set them forth so lucidly is amazing.
Here’s to more of us having the courage and discipline to try new things, remain forward focused, and embracing the joys of discipline as we move towards our goals.
I did the easy thing here and asked Gemini for funny quotes on courage and discipline. Hope you get a laugh out of them too.
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“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” – Will Rogers
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“Courage is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway. Stupidity is the same. And that’s why life is hard.”
Nourish-n-Cherish 