We can’t outrun age. But we can learn to run with it.
I’m a lifelong challenger. When I was in my twenties, I walked out of a job I once loved, but had grown disillusioned with. I had no plan other than a deep sense that something would come my way. Within six months I had transitioned into self-employment in the advertising production industry, using my background as a voice and on-camera talent to form the basis for a new career as an audio and video producer, director, and marketing strategist that while it was scary at first, turned out to lead to a long and successful career.
Along the way, working in advertising, combined with a good dose of therapy and personal development training as an ontological coach, taught me the importance of a good story. We all have a way of being in the world, a strategy about life that we’ve learned over time. Sometimes those ways help us, and sometimes they lead to feeling like we’re hitting our head against the same wall over and over. I learned (sometimes the hard way!) that rewriting my own personal story is what allows me to see new possibilities, leading to a more peaceful and effective life. And doing so is ultimately where our own power lies.
Do you ever wonder:
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How to handle the changes that getting older brings?
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If you’re “too old”?
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Is it “too late” for me?
You’re not the only one.
A half-marathon taught me more than how to run a race.
I wrote Outrunning Age: Meeting Midlife With Courage, Compassion, and a Few Blisters because I wanted to change my own story about what it means to get older. I was afraid I’d lose the physical ability to run, to be active, and to be curious about life. I was afraid my world would shrink and that I would settle for that. I wanted to learn how to discern the line between what I can’t change (and accept those things!), and what I can affect through my thoughts, my actions, and my ability to create new habits. I needed a challenge that would help me see the change that the coming years will bring as being changes I would be able to handle, even if I didn’t know what they would be. Hence, the half-marathon at age 60!
As the saying goes, “Life is about learning to manage loss”, and I didn’t want loss to get the best of me. Instead, I wanted to learn how to keep the zest and excitement of life despite losing some people and situations that were important to me. I will always have more to learn, but I think I’m on track, and happy to share what I know, in the hopes it will help others who had the same questions I had.
In the marathon of life, it’s important to have support. Let’s keep learning how to support each other, together!