Last month I hit the big 6-0. My youngest daughter asked me on the day of my birthday if I felt sixty. I replied… not really, I’ve never been sixty before! Later that day I did take a moment to really think about the question, and I recalled my 50th birthday and my 40th too. Bottom line… mentally I feel about the same as I did back then, but I know I don’t look the same as my new driver’s licence just arrived in the mail and for the first time ever I didn’t recognize myself!!
Obviously I can’t pretend that certain things have not changed. Physically, my body has been getting older and staying healthy and fit is constantly on my mind and why I follow a semi-strict routine to keep me active. My daughters, nephews and nieces are no longer kids, they are at high school, university or young professionals. I make it a habit to stay connected and embrace many of the things from their era as I LOVE change. I’ve even been known to take some of their ideas and in return give them some of mine -but only, I try, when I’m asked to do so.
Friends back in England tell me they have looked forward to reaching sixty so that they could quit work early and retire. That’s the European way I guess, and from my vantage point it seems it forces so many into a retirement they may not be fully ready for. With all of the health and science advances over the past two or three decades I no longer consider 60 as old, but rather, middle-aged. Age can be measured as time lived or it can be measured as time yet to live, and based on the current human life expectancy I still have plenty of good productive years ahead.
To me sixty is just another milestone. I’m happy, healthy and very lucky…and my motivation to move forward and experience even more of what life has to offer is strong. Looking back over the past decade I’d say my fifties were the years where I began hitting my stride, and I think – all things being equal – during my 60’s I’ll be cruising on automatic. When the next milestone (70) finds my door, inherently I’ll know that time is becoming compressed and I’m sure the back nine will look short.
It remains my goal to want to fill up these next two decades with as much positive and as much good as possible. Getting old is for the aged, embracing the future, no matter how long one might have, is for the young at heart.
Alex
What I’m Enjoying:
People are amazing! No matter where I travel (and I have traversed this earth for more than 40-years now) I seem to always meet the nicest of people. On the day I left the U.K. with a backpack to go wander, my loving mother told me… “have fun, be cautious and smart, and watch out for the five bad people on earth.” She said most everyone you’ll meet along the way will be wonderful people, and during a lifetime you’ll likely encounter five real dandies.
She hadn’t traveled much when she told me this, even though she did later in life, but the lesson was heeded and how right she was – most people are fabulous. I recently returned from an investor conference in Orlando, Florida, and while I was there I met some of the most remarkable people I have ever met.
Take time to enjoy the people you know and meet – they will brighten up any dull day and give you inspiration.
Thanks for reading!
