Poor Kipper (my dog) has had a rough month. Ear infections, cysts, multiple trips to the vet which is truly her worst thing in the whole world. She shivers and sheds like a crazy thing!
On the latest visit as I was coaxing Kipper out from behind the chair, I noticed a picture on the wall which I took a snap of, and it got me thinking..................
November is my birthday month and this year I will be turning 55! Like many people my age I am sometimes shocked when I look in the mirror at the face that looks back at me. Don't get me wrong, I love my face, with all its freckles, age spots and yes, wrinkles but it is not the face of the 25 year old I feel inside! How is that possible? How do I feel like this and yet look like that?! I know the answer - a transatlantic move, two kids, two dogs, deaths, births, cross country moves, new jobs, new businesses, and on it goes. Life, in short, is what happened in the last 30 years, with all that brings. But as often happens at this time of year, it gets me thinking.......
I know quite a few folks my age and it's always interesting to me to hear how the conversations go sometimes - "oh, I'm too old for that now", or "my ---------(insert favorite sporting activity) days are over", "I've always wanted to do that, but it's too late now", "I'd never have the energy", "I'm too scared to try that now" etc. You see where I'm going with this?
My question is, can there ever be an age where it is really too late to teach an old (ish) dog new tricks? Undoubtedly there are some things that age or injury can prevent us doing. It would be very hard to take up running for example, if you've had knee surgery and been advised that running would cause lasting damage that could impact your long term mobility. It could be tricky to take up dog agility training classes, if you don't have a dog! But honestly, as I sit and write this, and try to think of things that are too hard to do because of age, I keep coming up with a counter argument that makes most things possible, provided that you are prepared to compromise a bit on exactly what you do, and provided that it's what you WANT to do.
And that I think is the key factor. If you WANT to do something, then don't let age be the thing that stops you trying. Sure, there may be some physical, financial, or geographical barriers that prevent you from doing something, but if it's your age that's holding you back, then maybe try and get creative and courageous and give it a go! If you fancy learning to play the guitar, find out where you could take lessons locally, if you've always wanted to learn to ice skate, contact your local arena and see if you could get lessons, or just go to a public session and see how you get on! The possibilities to try new things are endless it's a question of having the courage to start! So, you might have to compromise a little on how you do it - maybe you take up hiking instead of running, perhaps you just go ice skating once a month while you figure it out, maybe you can rent a guitar to practice instead of having to buy one. There are work arounds to many challenges But don't get in your own way of trying something out, just because you think you're too old!
For inspiration I took some excerpts from "Edgy Conversations" by Daniel Waldschmidt which I have listed below - check it out - it's pretty inspiring!!!
People are doing extraordinary things all the time and there's no reason you can't be one of them!
At 47, Kent Couch attached 105 helium balloons to a lawn chair and flew 193 miles
At 52, Sir Francis Chichester sailed around the world alone in a 53-foot boat normally manned by a crew of six
At 55 Jane Jones...............................?!
At 57, Frank Dobesh competed in his first 100-mile bicycle ride - exactly 10 years after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor
At 71, Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a retired Japanese schoolteacher, became the oldest person to climb Mt.Everest
at 75, cancer survivor Barbara Hillary became one of the oldest people, and the first black woman, to reach the North Pole.
At 95, Nola Ochs became the oldest person to receive a college diploma
At 100, Frank Schearer seems to be the oldest active water skier in the world
Edited excerpt from "Edgy Conversations: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Outrageous Success." Copyright © 2013 by Daniel E. Waldschmidt. All rights reserved.