My birthday is this month, and I find that I become more reflective when this day approaches. When I was in my thirties, I remember listening to a conversation about someone in their fifties talking about how they didn’t feel any different than they did when they were two decades below this. I found this to be fascinating. Namely because I expected to hear a much different version of this conversation.
One of the things that provided a lasting impression from this conversation, was that it opened my mind to considering age as only a data classification. Although in our society we tend to place both visible and invisible fences around age. What I mean is that there are distinct markers of when you can and cannot do certain things legally in the US (e.g., obtaining your driver’s license, being able to vote, being able to consume alcohol) to name a few.
Fast forward or rewind to the decade of living in your twenties. This is a wonderful decade where we are encouraged to explore our career options and where to live, who to partner with, make mistakes and figure out who we are, and what makes us happy. Of course, not everyone figures this out during this decade, but for the sake of conversation, let’s make this assumption.
In your thirty’s decade, you might find yourself feeling more settled. Or, becoming more confident about some of the choices you made in your twenties which are impacting this decade. Perhaps you are caring for someone other than yourself, or not. Either way, your perspective on the world is evolving, and you are becoming more aware of how you can and might be impacting the environment you are in.
As you ease into your forties, you might realize that you have achieved a level of accomplishment you have been striving to attain for years. Although you have been working at your achievements for a while, it might feel as if you woke up one day and finally feel a sense of relief. Relief that the hard work you have put in to your career or life is beginning to pay off. Or, perhaps not yet?
Arriving at the doorstep of your fifties is an interesting place to be. For me personally, I became far more accepting of both my limitations and achievements. I’m not suggesting I was settling and not attempting to pursue other goals, but I arrived at a place where I was finally more comfortable in my own skin. This partially had to do with the fact I changed careers after decades, and entered into one which I felt embraced me authentically. For the first time in my life. Yes, this felt amazing, but truthfully, I was also frustrated that it took so long to arrive here.
This leads me back to how as I look forward in time, that I will not be referring to my age. I feel it is restrictive, and not representative of who I am, what I have to offer, or the possibilities and opportunities which might not be there for me if have a self-imposed age restriction on myself. So, my solution to being able to look at my life going forward is having a mindset of being ageless. Just writing this makes me feel different, and less restricted. It’s also something I was thinking about how I can share with others. In a way, this is my birthday gift to others.
I appreciate the fact not everyone may feel comfortable with defining themselves as ageless, but if it helps to open up your mind to placing fewer restrictions on your life, and provides a new lens to opportunities, I’ll be satisfied with this.
Since I have a mentoring mindset and generally provide suggestions on how to navigate towards accomplishing something, below are some ideas for you to consider adopting an “ageless” mindset too.
- I have always liked bright clothes and colors. Although I am also a big fan of the black and white combo. My point is that your choice of clothes and the colors you where should not be influenced by others. Consider your color choices as a reflection of who you truly are, and don’t let your age dictate what colors you think you can or can’t wear.
- Do you have friends from different decades? I hope you do, or will consider finding people to include in your circle of friends who are not in your same decade. You will learn and be incredibly enriched by the thinking from people who are at different phases in their life. Factor in both the mentoring and reverse mentoring possibilities too.
- If there is a hobby or something you have wanted to do, but you think you are too young or too old to pursue it, give it a try. You might be denying yourself from having immense satisfaction, or determine it’s not really as great as you thought it might be. You need to experiment to find this out, so what are you waiting for?
- Have you always wanted to travel, but have not been able to do so for any number of reasons (e.g., budget, you are afraid to, you don’t know where to go)? All of these can be overcome with some planning, especially the budget factor. In fact, traveling on a restricted budget can actually be more fun, as it challenges you to be more creative with what you can do. Hint, in my opinion, traveling is one of the best ways to feel ageless.
So, the next time someone asks me what my age is, you know what I’ll be telling them…I’m ageless. I can’t wait to hear the responses from this statement, and what type of conversations I’ll be having when this happens. Perhaps you can adopt this ageless philosophy? Better yet, perhaps you can also re-write both the written and undocumented rules that can place unnecessary restrictions and unnecessary fear in our minds, and on how we lead and approach going forward in our lives. Enjoy the journey, and I hope to see you along the way.
TAGS: #Ageless #Aging #Birthday #Perception #Fear #Journey #Life #Leadership #Success #Mindset #Positivity #PositiveMindset #Fear #Redefiningage #Reimaginingaging #Confidence #Motivation #Perception #Inspiration #Mentor #Mentoring B265
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