Sometimes we look at our lives and think about how we would have changed them if we started over. We often think that we’re too old and we have made our choices. But the reality is, that we are never too old to make new choices. The only choice you have to make again is the choice to take a new path. There are numerous examples of people that have started again, where someone has decided at an advanced age to suddenly take up an acting career, become a comedian, travel the world, or paint paintings. Your only limitation is your belief that you can or you cannot do this. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s a mindset more than physical. Here are a few things that you can think about.
The comfort zone
One of the biggest problems we have to climb out of, is the comfort zone. This is the area that we have grown used to. It means that it’s easier to stay as you are, easier just to keep sitting on that sofa and going to that job, than stretching your legs and trying something new. Uncertainty of the future is a very scary thing, but if you’re considering making a new life, then that comfort zone is really not comfortable is it? So really look at your life and decide if this is how you want to live the rest of it without changing. If you want to make a new and exciting life the first step you have to do is decide on what you want. What you know and what you want to do, then you can decide on how you can do it.
Risk
There is always going to be risk. Especially if you’re older and have settled into your comfort zone as per the previous section. You know what you have coming, you know where the rent is coming from, you know what you have to do, every day is taken care of in a habit and pattern that you have long-established. There is little risk. Stepping out into something new is a huge risk monetarily, physically, and emotionally. But you will find that most risks are not as scary as they seem. Sometimes you just need to embrace the newness of things and see how it goes. That little bit of risk might be enough to light your life on fire again.
Experience
One thing you have a lot of, is experience. The older you get the more experience you have. When you look back at who you were in school and the choices you made then. Choices which seemed like the best thing in the world, do not seem quite as smart now. People that you didn’t listen to when you were younger have become who you are now. But really, experience is only good when you use it. So start a new business, or a new life, and put that experience to use. You’ll still make mistakes, but you won’t make the same ones you had when you were younger. In fact, you have a much higher chance of success when you’re older than you do when you’re younger. The one thing you lack generally, with experience, is the fire and drive you had when you were younger. The reason for this is that you can see more than that younger person does. So when everyone is jumping off the bridge into the water, as you’re older, you think a little bit more about what can happen. So use this as a benefit, and make a new life.
But I’m too old
Are you really? When you look inside yourself, are you really feeling too old? or do you feel like you’re 20 years old and trapped in an old person’s body. Well, let’s see if we can let that 20 year old you go out and have a bit of fun. People have started their lives again after retirement. There are some that took up weight training in their 80s and are now some of the most amazing people as you can see. Just do a little bit of searching on YouTube for amazing senior citizen or amazing 80 year old and you can see what you can achieve. It’s just a matter and desire to do so. You may be sitting there at 50 thinking you’re too old, but let me tell you, the guy in his 80s is going to be laughing at you. You can be 70 and the guy in his 90s is going to be laughing at you. You’re never too old.
Survival
You may worry about how you’re going to survive, but when you were in school or college, you might have been living off cheap foods and doing what you needed to do to make it. There’s no difference when you’re old. In fact, there are a lot of people that are barely making survival on their social security or pension, and they’re eating just like they were when they were in college. Is that really what you want for your life? Pretend you’re 20, and go out to take it.
There is an old saying that age and treachery beats youth and enthusiasm every time. In a way this is true. You have the experience, you know what you can do, you’ve seen most of it done, and done most of it yourself. You may just be in a rut, where you do not know where to go. The thing you need is desire, and that’s all. You just need to desire to make a new life. So think about it, think about what you want to do really, think about what your life is now and if you’re happy. Then think a little bit outside of the box and go for it. Some people will call you crazy, probably other seniors, but you have lived long enough not to give a damn. So bask in the adoration of success once you’ve made it, and others will be asking you how you did it. Good luck. Become 20 again.
