On Monday, I turn forty. That’s a big deal birthday, but to be honest, I haven’t really thought much about it until today. At ten all I wanted was to be grown so I could do whatever I wanted whenever. At twenty I felt like the world was one big, terrifying adventure. The possibilities laid out before me where endless. At thirty I cried when I realized that I was a full-fledged adult and I no longer had any excuses.
Do I have regrets at forty? Yeah I have plenty, but fretting about the past won’t accomplish much. The future still lays out before me with all of its possibilities. Whatever I dream I can make happen with work and a clear vision of where I want to be.
Many people use age as an excuse as to why they can’t do something.
“I’m too old to learn a foreign language.”
“It’s too late to change careers.”
“I have too many responsibilities to travel the world.”
You know what. I’m tired of excuses. We only get one go around on this planet so you better make it gosh darn good. What do you want to do? What impact do you want to make? Who do you want to help?
I’m forty now (not technically now, but in a few days) and there is still a whole pile of stuff I want to get done. I can decide that I’m too far gone to start anything new and piddle away my days doing things that don’t challenge me at all or I can set some goals and get busy achieving them.
Time is going to keep on passing no matter what you chose to do. Next year you could be a whole older and a year closer to accomplishing your big dreams or you could be a year older and a bit more annoyed with yourself because you never even tried to live your dreams.
Do you want to write a book, or learn to play the guitar, or speak Spanish, or learn to draw, or bike ride across the country, or become a public speaker… The possibilities are endless. Well get busy doing it. Time waits for no one as they say. The future will look so much better if you take some time to imagine the possibilities and start moving toward them.