Age Perspective Part 4

As Good As I Once Was

 The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old, servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits. -Hervey Allen

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. - Caryn Leschen

If you are looking for wisdom about life in your thirties, you can find it in the two quotes above.  So you’ve been dreading turning the big three-O, and now it’s here.  I remember arriving into my thirties being a newlywed, head over hills in love, and taking on the world and its challenges with gusto and fearlessness.  Once we get to the thirties we have to be bold and confront the life ahead of us and not continue with the attitude that there is plenty of time for me to get serious and established.

If you simply consider that at present the goal for the majority of people is to retire by age 65.  Many of us would like to and actually strive to retire by age 50, so we can enjoy a semblance of good health, and vigor even if not youth as seen through the eyes of people in their thirties.  If you haven’t done anything to prepare yourself for retirement by age thirty, get some comfort in knowing that you have 35 years left to accomplish your goal.  The only difference is that now the room for error is not as forgiving.

At the risk of sounding like a braggart, I am happy to say that I established my pension plan while still in my twenties.  Beyond that, I was lucky to have a good friend that provided me with guidance to get me on track to maximize my retirement plan.  In my eyes this friend was an expert; in his lifetime he had established two pensions, plus Social Security.  How do you dare argue with success? 

So much for finances, now let’s address the real significance of the age.  I was thirty five when I first found out that my body didn’t recover from injury as fast as it used to.  I’m not talking about car accident type injuries; I’m talking about injuries from weekend warrior activities, softball games, tennis, racket ball, long hikes, and sore muscles in general.  I quickly learned that I was still very competitive, but there is definitely one thing you should not compete with.  Simply put, you should not try to compete with yourself, of ten years prior or even five years earlier.

When you hear people say 30 is the new 20, maybe with some slight limitations, but whatever you do don’t believe and try to prove correct that 40 is the new 30.  Trust me on this; your brain will do the talk, and maybe appearance, but your body will not only not do the walk, it will actually say “hell no!”  There aren’t many things that I do to extreme, but friends that do, tell me that as you progress in age, recovering from a weekend of over indulgence (hangover) takes up to five times the time and effort.  Even Toby Keith of the country music genre, recorded a very popular song titled; Not As Good As I Once Was.

As you enter and go through the age of the thirties, I recommend that you start taking care of your body, and mind, like it’s the only one you have (because it is) and needs to last another (if you are lucky) fifty years at least.  These are the years when you begin to make serious money if you learned anything in the life you lived.  The children grow up and move away, and if you are fortunate to have a strong relationship with your spouse/partner/love of your life, you can pick up where you were, when life interrupted your love affair.

Imagine what it’s like to be in love, as it was when you were younger, but now you have the money to treat each other to some of the things you couldn’t afford in the early part of your relationship. Please understand that I am not talking about Donald Trump kind of fortune, just the kind of money that is achievable if you start planning no later than in your thirties.  It’s always possible with a little effort, and some planning that; the best is yet to come….