Insight #315:
This getting older
Ain’t for cowards
This getting older
Is a lot to go through
“Don’t Need This Body” by John Mellencamp.
Indeed, getting older is not for cowards. I should know. I’m older now than I once was.
But I have good news. I will be better and better. It might even apply to you, the good news and the getting better and better. You decide.
As I get older, I can expect my vocabulary to expand. This will help me be a better communicator, a better writer, a better coach. And also a more interesting person to spend time with.
As I get older, I might not have the mental agility I once had to come up with new ideas easily. But I will be better at using ideas, be they different or complex. And I will be better at building on existing ones.
As I get older, I will be better at interpreting other people’s ideas. And even at giving their ideas back to them in better shape.
As I get older, I will be better at explaining complex ideas, and so become better at helping others make better sense of their world.
As I get older, I will be better at helping people apply ideas, making them more successful.
As I get older, all the benefits above will make me a better coach…, I mean, a better person.
And with a bit of luck, as I get older, I might even be better at finding a better word than better.
If getting older is about becoming better, what’s there not to like about getting older? I’ll tell you what. Missing out on all the bouncy things your younger physical self once did for fun.
But then, if you look closely at the list above, you will note that all the better bits have to do with impact. Your impact on other people.
You can’t get any better than that.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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You don’t believe me about getting better? Then consider the research. Start with From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks.
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