What are some difficult truths about aging?

Chris Nichols

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Marketing (1998–present)

 

What are some difficult truths about aging?

The older you get the more you realize that a lot of things you were taught in your youth is just plain wrong.

1. You can be anything you want to be. No, no you can’t. There are tests you won’t score high enough on that will preclude you from being accepted into whatever program you desire. All this despite having the intelligence and skill needed to excel at whatever the profession may be. Even if you have the right credentials and experience, if they are not hiring for what you want to do…well…you may be out of luck. There are miles of reasons why you can’t be whatever you want to be.
1. But guess what, you can be the best at the opportunities life presents to you.
2. Hard work is rewarded. No, not always. Sometimes the power of the universe conspires against hard working individuals and unfairly rewards our lazy, short cut seeking, less intelligent friends, co-workers, and acquaitances.
1. But if you knuckle down, don’t let the unfairness of the world ruin your attitude, show up everyday, and do your best, you definitely increase the odds of having a fulfilling life.
3. Money and wealth are your greatest asset. No, no they are not. They are important and provide security and freedom.
1. But your health is your greatest asset. If you have terminal cancer or some other horrifying condition, all the money in the world does not matter. In fact, if you get type 2 diabetes or heart disease, what you can do daily is radically impacted. So invest in your health daily.
4. That others care about your house, your clothes, your toys, and you in general. No, no they do not. We all think others are concerned with what we have or don’t have. They’re not. In fact the people we think are thinking about us, usually are not thinking about us at all. The world doesn’t really care about you at all.
1. But, if you are lucky, you have a few people who do truly care about you. It’s usually a very small number of people. They are the people that truly matter in your life and they probably could care less about all your toys.
5. That we will all live forever. No, no you won’t. Sure, no one ever comes out and blatantly tells you that you will live forever. But every message we get on TV, social media, or culture in general seems to want us to believe we are immortal. Worse yet, our own minds seem to lead us around as if we are going to see the next two centuries.
1. But, you are going to die. Everyone you know is going to die. That should not scare us. It should free us. Free us to be present in every moment because this moment is all we really have. The past is gone. The future is not guaranteed. We have today. Embrace it and allow it to grow the love you have inside you. Then share that love.