Feeling Like You Haven’t “Peaked” in Life Yet?
Based on the way startups are covered in the news today, and all these ‘30 under 30’ lists circulating in the media. It’s easy to feel like all entrepreneurs are in their 20s and 30s. However, that’s only part of the picture. There are plenty of entrepreneurs out there who found their “big ideas” later in life, and founded companies that, in many cases, last well past their years. It’s healthy to peak late in life. In fact, many people feel happier and healthier as they grow older. There are many different reasons why people don’t land on the right path until “later in life.” We may have been or know someone who is considered to be a “black sheep.” You know, that person that everyone was sure would either never be successful, attractive, or appealing in any way. Nonetheless, now look, you’re (or that person) is starting to get their life together. You’re figuring it out. You might not be on the same level as everyone who peaked in high school, but that’s okay, who wants to peak at 18? Below are a few reasons why many become late bloomers.
- You’ve checked your expectations.
When you are young, you usually have higher expectations due to less experience, but as you grow older, you end up gaining more experience while having fewer expectations. It’s not that you’ve “lowered” your standards, you have just learned, through experiences, to keep your expectations in check.
- You stayed “hungry” for learning.
One is never too old to get another education. Many people speak later in life because they have acquired more experience and education. I once had a friend whose father enrolled in an advanced French course when he was 75 years old! When you continue to learn, your mind stays engaged and active.
- You’ve kept a youthful mind
It’s not how old you are, but “how old you feel”. Whether you are old or not depends to a large extent on whether you FEEL old. If you don’t refer to yourself as old, people won’t see you as old. Age, as a category, is slowly dissolving, and you are only old if you think and feel old. It is a proven fact that although your body may become more fragile with age, other parts of you become stronger with age.
- You’re making more informed financial decisions.
People over the age of 50 make more informed decisions when it comes to economic choices because they learned through experiences on how to manage their money better.
- You’re less stressed.
People over the age of 50 are generally feeling more satisfied with life and less stressed. Studies show that negative emotions like fear and anger decrease after the early 20s, while people over 50 are much less dissatisfied. The study concludes that this may be due to changes in our living conditions or psychological changes in the way we see the world, and it may even be because of biology, such as shifts in the brain’s chemistry or endocrine changes. Stress is usually the body’s way of responding to potentially hazardous or even lethal situations, so even if death is approaching with more rapid steps, our life experience may also help us to achieve a lower level of stress because we are better able to assess whether certain situations are dangerous to us. Which they rarely are.
So, it’s never too old to do something new. Whether its launching a business, become a great leader, change careers, or just do something different with your life, it’s never too late to change your destiny. In fact, some of the most iconic people in history have been late bloomers. Van Gogh didn’t start painting until he was in his late 20s, Julia Child didn’t begin cooking until her 30s, Peter Roget didn’t invent the thesaurus until he was 73 years old, Martha Stewart, whose real success came after age 41 with the publication of her first book, Entertaining, and the launch of Martha Stewart Living. There are tons of other similar cases, but what does this mean for you? You might not find your talent, your niche, or the break you’re looking for in life until you get older. And that’s totally okay. Great things are coming. Your age isn’t really the major threat to your life – it’s your attitude towards getting older that is. So, change your attitude and your “age” will change.
