Motivation

Never Too Late To Begin

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One of the most common excuses out there for not chasing dreams is advanced age. People think, “It’s too late for me. If only I were younger. If only I’d started way back when.” Like we’ve written elsewhere, for a rationalization to work it’s got to be convincing, convincing to others but especially to yourself, and this particular rationalization works really well because our youth obsessed culture reinforces it.

But from the existential point of view it’s never too late to begin because self-actualization is a lifelong affair, not to mention tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us. Starting out young is all well and good but there are plenty of people who start out young byt have their dreams derailed by sickness, accidental death, bad luck, or any number of other unforeseen variables.

None of us know how much time we have left, the only thing given to us is the present moment. The ‘it’s too late’ outlook is tragic precisely because it compels you to waste your present in the same way that you wasted your past, only back then you were using other rationalizations, rationalizations probably focused around being too busy, not having the finances, or it not being the right time.

Who cares how old you are? In fact, consider your advanced age to be an advantage, not a drawback. You have a great deal of life experience you can draw upon now that you didn’t have access to before. You can take a no-nonsense approach to your goals and aspirations. You’ll feel that extra urge to put the pedal to the medal once you get started precisely because you realize time is not on your side. Don’t give yourself the out of not doing what you’ve always wanted to do just because you happen to be a little bit older than what you or others believe is a culturally acceptable age. It’s never too late to go for it and the only thing holding you back is your own attitude towards where you are on your life continuum.

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