True Confession Tuesday: Old People Can Do Stuff
Where every Tuesday: I confess.
Confession: I believe old people can do stuff too.
Before anyone gets up in arms about the term “old people,” let me explain.
I hear things like this a lot.
- I’m too old
- I can’t do that at my age
- That’s scary
- That’s not for me
- I’ll get hurt
- There’s no way I can do that
- I’m too old
- I can’t do that
And it breaks my heart.
I hear this from clients, friends, and people I run into all over the place. And I use the term “old people” because the phrase “I can’t” is usually tied in with “I’m too old.” Old can be whatever you determine to be old. But I challenge you this morning to think – why is what I do tied to an age? Who says what you can do at what age?
When I first started training, I started working with the most lovely woman. She was 70 years old when we met and had been going to the gym with her husband for years but not really doing anything and she also knew she was getting weaker.
Her original goal was to lift her suitcase into the overhead compartment of the airplane, to be able to continue to ski in Colorado, and to keep up with her growing grandchildren.
Check! We’ve met all of those goals.
And in the last year she has gone through yoga teacher training. We have a slogan we use a lot “If you’re not learning, you’re dying.”
She’s 81 now. Still training. And she’s a yoga teacher. It’s never too late.
I recently met a woman during a Tough Mudder who had gray hair and her eyes wide open in amazement. I watched her conquer obstacle after obstacle. When we got to the obstacle “Everest” which is a big warped wall, she fell 3x and had a look of defeat.
We looked her in the eye and said “We will get you up this wall.” And we did.
We ended up talking with her for a little bit and it was her first event of anything like it and she said “It won’t be my last – this is incredible.”
She’s 61 years old. Pushing herself way out of her comfort zone and doing things she never imagined could would attempt – let alone complete. It’s never too late.
This extends past just physical movement.
- Why is it ever too late to learn a new skill?
- Try a new class?
- Read a new book?
- Push yourself to try new things?
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” – Sophia Loren
I discovered this quote and find it so beautiful and such an amazing summary of how you’re never too old.
The fountain of youth is:
- Your mind
- Your talents
- The creativity you bring to your life
- The lives of people you love
I have said it once, twice, a million times. You have gifts and talents to bring to the world that are unique to you. And it has ZERO to do with what age you are. If we’re being honest here, I struggle with this a lot. I think about what I want to do in my business and I think “oh – someone has already done it. I shouldn’t bother.” When in reality – there’s only one me and there’s only one way I can serve and there are people who need to hear my message. The same is true with you.
I urge you whether you are 20 years old or 90 years old to ask yourself these questions.
- How am I using my mind?
- How am I using my talents?
- How am I using my creativity?
- How am I loving my family?
Age is simply a number. And if it’s scary to branch out because you’ve been doing the same things for so long- find someone to do it with and help them branch out as well.
But in case you need a little motivation today – check out this great article.
“These Amazing People Over 50 Bust Every Aging Stereotype You Can Think Of”
I’ll see you next week.
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