5 Reasons for Being the Best You — Right Now!

The perfect age has nothing to do with the number of years you’ve lived

I remember driving to work one morning and listening to three radio personalities offer their opinion on the best age in life.

After a minute or so of discussing the pros and cons of a younger body versus a wiser mind, they unanimously chose 35 as the perfect age.

At the time, I was 28.

The idea of being 35 seemed impossibly old

Hell, I could feel thirty looming in near future and that was bad enough. The thought that my thirty-fifth birthday would be something to celebrate seemed insane.

That was over thirty years ago.

How accurate were the radio DJ’s in predicting the supposed best year of my life?

My 35th year was nothing short of a trip to hell and back. I was frustrated, angry, dissatisfied, and confused.

Not something I would ever want to repeat.

So what age would I pick as the best in life?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there could only be one answer: I haven’t lived it yet.

Sounds like Pollyanna naiveté, doesn’t it?

It isn’t. Believing the best is yet to come is more than just another optimistic platitude printed across a motivational poster.

It’s the mindset of those who continue to set goals, look forward to a changing future, and continue to adapt to life’s constant transitions.

And that’s only part of it.

Because if you don’t believe it, the alternative is to admit you’re done — to declare your best years are behind you, with nothing left but to wait out the time, reminiscing about the good old days while the rest of the world discounts you as just another doddering old senior with nothing left to contribute.

I’ve known men and women who were truly old at sixty-five. And I’ve known others who were energetic, active, and healthy at eighty-five.

What made the difference?

Living actively.

Instead of simply aging, the happier, healthier group remained involved with life, pursuing their work, convinced they were doing something that made a difference — not only in their lives, but in the lives of others.

They seldom thought about how old they were, and if someone asked their age, they’d respond with a puzzled, distracted look as they took a moment to remember — because their age didn’t define them.

Age was simply a number on their driver’s license, or a letter in the mail advising them they were eligible for Medicare, or the reason for receiving a social security check — a check they didn’t need because they worked full time and loved it.

They had mastered the art of aging well.

Here are five suggestions to help you look forward to a future full of promise and productivity — regardless of the number of years behind you:

1. Do it now — while there is time, and promise, and possibility

Allowing the time to pass without taking action extracts a huge toll.

Sit on the sidelines too long and, eventually, we find ourselves in a place where choices are fewer, opportunities are less clear, and life has become muddled and tedious.

2. Stay involved

Continue exploring and learning no matter where you are along the road of life.

Create new goals based on what you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t had the time to accomplish.

Very few of us have done everything in life we set out to do in our youth. And while some of those things may no longer be important to us, there’s always a few remaining items on the “bucket list” that would put the icing on the cake.

And don’t be afraid to make your new goals ambitious and challenging. Age doesn’t automatically disqualify you from experiencing new adventures. I know seniors who turned a vacation into a working retreat, which eventually resulted in moving to a different country or learning a new language and culture.

There’s no expiration date on personal satisfaction and accomplishment. If necessary, expand your inventory of ideas, goals, and interests. Choose the one you’d most like to explore, and then determine what action you can take — every day — to bring your goal into reality.

3. Put yourself into situations that provide the opportunity to meet new people

This includes special interest groups, hobbyist-clubs, churches, and fraternal organizations.

And while your choice should reflect your personal interest(s), also consider the “typical” member you’re most likely to meet. For example, if you want to meet women, joining a book club or a cooking group would be a much better choice than a model train club or the local chapter of a ham radio organization.

Another great way to meet others is to take an adult-education class on a subject you already know a lot about. You’ll be the star student others will come to for help. And who knows? You may be asked to teach the course in the future.

4. Offer your expertise and experience to others who need it

For example, over the last five years, I’ve provided management consulting to a half-dozen small business startups run by young people who recently made the transition from employee to entrepreneur.

Total dollars in compensation I’ve received? Zero.

But the value of those relationships in terms of networking, exposure to new ideas, and involvement in new markets and industries made the investment a good one.

5. Put a priority on diet and exercise

Your body — it’s health and condition — has a great deal to do with your longevity. Bodies are designed to last a long time if taken care of.

But if you mistreat it by eating garbage or ignore required maintenance, you can look forward to a future cut short by obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Which begs the question: Knowing the risks, why would you do that?

There’s plenty of information on how to eat healthy by making better choices at the supermarket.

If you need a recommendation, check out health and diet websites offering shopping tips, recipes, and information on how to avoid foods tainted with pesticides, sugar, antibiotics, and growth-hormones. If you need a place to start, check out my wife’s website, Kitchen Spirit.

Does it work?

My obvious personal bias aside, I encourage you to visit her site and learn about the personal health challenges she’s overcome by making simple, easy changes in her diet. She’s in the best shape of her life and at 63, is obvious proof that a healthy diet and exercise can dramatically slow the aging process.

I’ll leave you with this . . .

I’ve clocked enough benchmark birthdays to realize the perfect age isn’t defined by a number.

In fact, it has nothing to do with how many years you’ve lived, the experience you’ve gathered, or the success you’ve achieved. It’s about being fully involved and invested in life — right now.

Life can be a predictable rerun of a thousand yesterdays, or a path of discovery with promise and possibility — at any age.

It’s a simple choice, but it must be a conscious one, especially if you’re ready to move forward into a future where the best is yet to come.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller

© 2020 Roger A. Reid. All Rights Reserved.

Roger A. Reid is the author of Better Mondays: The New Rules for Creating Financial Success and Personal Freedom (While Working for the Man)

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Roger A. Reid, Ph.D. is the host of Success Point 360 Podcast and author of Better Mondays and Speak Up. A certified NLP trainer with degrees in engineering and business, Roger offers tips and strategies for achieving higher levels of career success and personal fulfillment in the real world.