Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Age excusitis Part 1 – I’m too old
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
No matter where we are in life, at some point we are going to suffer from age excusitis or hear someone else complain about it. If we’re the ones that use age as an excuse not to do something, it sounds perfectly logical to us… yet if we hear it from someone else, we immediately know that it is simply a masquerade for fear or unwillingness, and most of the time it comes to our utter astonishment that the other person sees him/herself that way because it’s not how we see them. Hmmmmm, why can’t we see it for what it is? What can we do about this malady?
“It’s unfortunate. This excuse has closed the door of real opportunity to thousands of individuals. They think their age is wrong, so they don’t even bother to try.” Luckily, David J. Schwartz, the author of The Magic of Thinking Big, says, “Age excusitis can be cured… I discovered a good serum that both cures this disease and vaccinates you so you won’t get it in the first place.”
He tells the story of Cecil, who wanted to change careers. Cecil said, “I’d have to start from scratch. And I’m too old for that now. I’m forty.” Schwartz told him “you’re only as old as you feel,” to no avail, as sometimes there are people who respond “but I do feel old!” So, Schwartz asked him, “Cecil, when does a man’s productive life begin?” Cecil said at about 20 years old. Then Schwartz asked when it ended, to which Cecil replied at about 70. Schwartz said, “a lot of folks are highly productive after they reach seventy, but let’s agree with what you’ve just said… You’re forty. How many years of productive life have you spent and how many have you left?” It was only then that Cecil understood he still had over half of his productive years ahead of him and realized that “how old we are is not important. It’s one’s attitude toward age that makes it a blessing or a barricade.”
“Curing yourself of age excusitis often opens doors to opportunities that you thought were locked tight.”
Schwartz tells another story of a relative of his who wanted to become a minister, but was 45 years old, had three kids and little money. Fortunately, “he mustered all of his strength and told himself, ‘Forty-five or not, I’m going to be a minister.” Five years later he was ordained and many years after that he said to Schwartz, “if I had not made that great decision when I was forty-five, I would have spent the rest of my life growing old and bitter. Now I feel every bit as young as I did twenty-five years ago.”
“When you [get rid of] age excusitis, the natural result is to gain the optimism of youth and feel of youth. When you beat down your fears of age limitations, you add years to your life as well as success. […] Defeat [‘too old’] by refusing to let it hold you back.”
ACTION
TODAY: Do you suffer from “too old” age excusitis in any area of your life? It is not necessarily tied to business life. Maybe you are ok there but feel, say, that you’re too old to take on a new sport, class, or hobby. Simply be aware of this excuse and ask why 5 times (or as many as needed) to get to the bottom of it. Once you know what is making you create an excuse, you’ll be able to realize that age doesn’t matter and you can move forward and create the change you want. Promise yourself that you won’t let age hold you back!
FUTURE: When age excusitis pops up in your head, or when you hear it from someone else, simply be aware and empathetic, as we all go through this once in a while. Look forward to new horizons, invest time in doing what you really want to do and apply Schwartz’s mindset: “It’s too late only when you let your mind go negative and think it’s too late.” Think instead, “I’m going to start now, my best years are ahead of me.” Remember that you are not your past and that you can create a wonderful path forward by giving yourself an A.
Have you ever dealt with age excusitis? How did you defeat it? Want to share your experience? I’m sure it’ll benefit us all! Please leave a comment or let me know via email. And if you know someone who needs to be cured of age excusitis, please forward this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!