This resonates with me. For many years I have thought about getting another degree, in Art, English literature and creative writing. The plan was to do it part-time, completing it in 6 years. But then I thought: I'm close to retirement - do I want to spend my time studying set texts, completing assignments and taking exams, instead of enjoying my free time?
And the answer was a resounding no. What is the point of me getting a qualification at the age of 67, too late to use in a career?
But I still want to learn about art, English literature, creative writing, music and more. So I have made my own study plan. I have a spreadsheet of courses from Coursera, Ed-X, Future Learn, Open Learn, Udemy on the subjects I am deeply interested in.
There are many advantages to doing this: firstly it's mostly free (I don't need a qualification, so I don't need to pay for a certificate); I can do the courses in the order I want to, and in my own time; and every single course I study is hand-picked by me (and I don't have to complete a course if I don't want to). Adding to the knowledge I get from the courses, I can read books around the subjects if I want more.
I'm so excited to be working towards my home-made degree, and so glad I decided it was too late to do it the official way!
Elite activities will always be for a handful of dedicated youngsters. But the lifelong pursuit of engaging meaningfully with life is for everyone. It’s never too late to start going to the gym, starting a knitting practice or a meditation practice. The lesson I wish I could send to younger me is that everything is a possibility for me and I am only competing with myself. Physical education and sports in elementary school and high school emphasize and value competition and naming first, second and third placement so highly that everyone else is discouraged from even trying. We all need exercise and movement. Everyone loves a good underdog story and a good comeback story.
I totally agree with this, Chris, and I would add that realizing it’s too late for certain things is an example of how it can bring relief, as we age, to narrow down our options. In much the same way I now know I’ll never be a basketball player, I also am OK with knowing, for example, that I will never live in Japan, or play the saxophone. Maybe I could do those things, but I take the fact that I have not chosen to do so for half a century as evidence that that isn’t what I really wanted. And crossing those things off the list brings me more peace of mind.
This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Your observations are completely aligned with what I’ve experienced over the last few years. For example, embarking on a dance journey late into my 30s is absolutely one hundred percent too late to make a career out of. Does it give me purpose and joy to learn something new at this stage and to keep creative juices flowing? Absolutely. Does it promise I will one day become a dance champion and open doors to professional opportunities? Definitely not. It’s just not physically possible for me to reach the levels required to do so. Same goes for traveling. I used to travel like a mad women in my 20s and 30s and if social media was a thing back then, I might have made a travel influencer career out of it. These days, due to various reasons related to my age and stage in life, it is highly unlikely to ever happen. And I’m making peace with that, focusing instead on other benefits of being in my 40s. But you are right, not too many people are talking about the realities of all this :)
"So maybe instead of mourning, we should celebrate the things that have passed us by. " - love this. Not easy sometimes but perhaps the passing of time helps us to see that it is good that certain things passed us by or didn't work out.
I love how you always address the positive aspects of the negative, and the negative aspects of the positive. It’s all in the perspective! My favorite “too late” scenario is when I’m on the fence about attending something so I set the invite/email aside so I can think about it, then by the time I look again, I’ve missed the deadline. It always feels like the universe figured it out for me!
This resonates with me. For many years I have thought about getting another degree, in Art, English literature and creative writing. The plan was to do it part-time, completing it in 6 years. But then I thought: I'm close to retirement - do I want to spend my time studying set texts, completing assignments and taking exams, instead of enjoying my free time?
And the answer was a resounding no. What is the point of me getting a qualification at the age of 67, too late to use in a career?
But I still want to learn about art, English literature, creative writing, music and more. So I have made my own study plan. I have a spreadsheet of courses from Coursera, Ed-X, Future Learn, Open Learn, Udemy on the subjects I am deeply interested in.
There are many advantages to doing this: firstly it's mostly free (I don't need a qualification, so I don't need to pay for a certificate); I can do the courses in the order I want to, and in my own time; and every single course I study is hand-picked by me (and I don't have to complete a course if I don't want to). Adding to the knowledge I get from the courses, I can read books around the subjects if I want more.
I'm so excited to be working towards my home-made degree, and so glad I decided it was too late to do it the official way!
I love this :)
Elite activities will always be for a handful of dedicated youngsters. But the lifelong pursuit of engaging meaningfully with life is for everyone. It’s never too late to start going to the gym, starting a knitting practice or a meditation practice. The lesson I wish I could send to younger me is that everything is a possibility for me and I am only competing with myself. Physical education and sports in elementary school and high school emphasize and value competition and naming first, second and third placement so highly that everyone else is discouraged from even trying. We all need exercise and movement. Everyone loves a good underdog story and a good comeback story.
"the lifelong pursuit of engaging meaningfully with life is for everyone" 🏆
I totally agree with this, Chris, and I would add that realizing it’s too late for certain things is an example of how it can bring relief, as we age, to narrow down our options. In much the same way I now know I’ll never be a basketball player, I also am OK with knowing, for example, that I will never live in Japan, or play the saxophone. Maybe I could do those things, but I take the fact that I have not chosen to do so for half a century as evidence that that isn’t what I really wanted. And crossing those things off the list brings me more peace of mind.
This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Your observations are completely aligned with what I’ve experienced over the last few years. For example, embarking on a dance journey late into my 30s is absolutely one hundred percent too late to make a career out of. Does it give me purpose and joy to learn something new at this stage and to keep creative juices flowing? Absolutely. Does it promise I will one day become a dance champion and open doors to professional opportunities? Definitely not. It’s just not physically possible for me to reach the levels required to do so. Same goes for traveling. I used to travel like a mad women in my 20s and 30s and if social media was a thing back then, I might have made a travel influencer career out of it. These days, due to various reasons related to my age and stage in life, it is highly unlikely to ever happen. And I’m making peace with that, focusing instead on other benefits of being in my 40s. But you are right, not too many people are talking about the realities of all this :)
Such a good point of view 👏🏼
"So maybe instead of mourning, we should celebrate the things that have passed us by. " - love this. Not easy sometimes but perhaps the passing of time helps us to see that it is good that certain things passed us by or didn't work out.
I love how you always address the positive aspects of the negative, and the negative aspects of the positive. It’s all in the perspective! My favorite “too late” scenario is when I’m on the fence about attending something so I set the invite/email aside so I can think about it, then by the time I look again, I’ve missed the deadline. It always feels like the universe figured it out for me!