54 isn’t the new anything.
Older ain’t always better, nor necessarily wiser.
Satisfaction is far from guaranteed.
Preparedness cannot mitigate all risk.
Bad things happen to OK people.
Enough amateur axioms. Let’s jump into a meandering conversation about what it means to be grown up. The I’m a bona fide adult level of maturation. This subject matter particularly intrigues me because:
i found an errant grey hair this morning;
kids today are smart in ways that beguile me;
being responsible looks different these days
Whatever your age, it never quite feels the way you imagined. How could it? There’s no substitute for experience and little value in trying to predict future you. Living is a dance of seek x find. Peering around corners, discovering something meaningful…evolution involves digging in. Finding components that fit without ever losing appetite for standing out.
Still, most of us crave affirmation over attention. Being noticed is nice; feeling appreciated and validated is sublime.
Influence is a veneer; wielded and projected with intent to dazzle and distract. It’s a zero sum game. Something to pass the time while paying dues.
As the number of years you’ve inhabited this planet rises, so should your wisdom and confidence. Isn’t that how it works?
I remain skeptical…
Why the urgency around growing up? Is there empirical data substantiating impact as a function of duration? Even if yes, I give you Greta Thunberg…:)
Happiness, meaning, psychological richness…all of it carries heft and curries favour. But your life isn’t a number, job, accomplishment or ideology. It’s the mashup of relationships, decisions, happenstance, revelations…every / anything that made you cry or laugh, think then act, stumble, grow. Flags needn’t be planted on any particular slope: reinvention is everyone’s prerogative.
Were I to articulate the value proposition for maturity, it would be a strategy of culling. Less fuss and more function; reducing negative thinking; increasing aspiration and curiosity. Spending tons of time learning, seeking…with intentional periods of repose. Offering relentless compassion to others; kindness toward self. Remaining audacious in effort, humble of spirit.
Te voilà. We’re all navigating this wild ride of a life with big dreams, a few cool party tricks and plenty of insecurity. Things will go right, wrong, nowhere…all over the place. Though we cannot control circumstances nor predict outcomes, we ought to try hard and collaborate often. #strive+share.
Aging is real. Maturity is relative. But youthful optimism is forever ;)