WHO THE HELL SAID I'M DONE?
Apparently, getting older means you're supposed to start slowing down. But somebody forgot to tell me.
By Don Mikey
There's something funny about getting older.
People start asking you different questions.
When you're young, everybody wants to know what you're going to do with your life.
What are your plans?
What do you want to become?
What are your dreams?
Then you hit a certain age, and suddenly the questions change.
Are you retired?
Are you taking it easy?
Are you enjoying doing nothing?
Doing nothing? What the fuck kind of question is that? 🤣
I retired from the Army. Raised a family. Made a bunch of good decisions, a few spectacularly bad ones, and survived enough adventures to fill several books.
And now, apparently, I'm supposed to sit down somewhere and watch television until it's time for dinner.
Yeah...
I don't think so.
Who Made These Rules Anyway?
At some point, society decided that life comes with an expiration date for certain activities.
Too old to start something new.
Too old to chase a dream.
Too old to learn a skill.
Too old to compete.
Too old to take risks.
Too old to reinvent yourself.
According to who?
Seriously.
Who sat down and decided that a 20-year-old gets to dream about the future, but somebody in their 50s should be satisfied remembering the past?
I must have missed that meeting.
Because I'm over here thinking about running track, competing against other masters athletes, writing books, creating artwork, developing performance programs, and building this website.
And that's just what's on my mind right now.
Tomorrow might bring something completely different.
The Older I Get, the Less I Know
When I was younger, I thought I knew everything.
Well, maybe not everything.
But definitely more than everybody trying to tell me what to do.
Funny thing is, the older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know.
And strangely enough, I love that.
Because every time I discover something I don't know, I find something new to explore.
A new idea.
A new challenge.
A new skill.
A new possibility.
And occasionally, a new opportunity to make a complete ass out of myself.
Hey, nobody said personal growth was supposed to be graceful. 🤣
I Don't Want to Relive My Glory Days
I've been an Army boxer.
I've pushed my body through challenges most people would never voluntarily sign up for.
I've experienced things I'll remember for the rest of my life.
But here's the thing.
I don't want my greatest memories to be things that happened 20 or 30 years ago.
I want new ones.
I want to find out how fast I can run now.
I want to see what else I can create.
I want to visit places I've never been.
I want to spend more time laughing with the people I love.
I want to keep discovering things about myself that I didn't know yesterday.
And if something doesn't work?
So what?
I'll either try again, try something different, or have another ridiculous story to tell.
Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
God Didn't Bring Me This Far to Stop Living
Something else has changed as I've gotten older.
My relationship with God.
I don't want God to be somebody I only talk to when I need something.
I want to invite Him into everything.
The big decisions.
The little moments.
The morning walks.
The family gatherings.
The creative ideas.
Even the crazy things I decide to try.
Because I've started looking at life a little differently.
Every day I wake up is another day I get to experience something.
Another opportunity to learn.
To improve.
To love.
To laugh.
To create.
To be grateful.
And maybe to become a slightly better version of the guy I was yesterday.
Not because I'm trying to become perfect.
Trust me, that's a losing battle.
But because I don't want to waste what I've been given.
So What's Next?
I have absolutely no idea.
Well, I have plenty of ideas.
Probably too many.
Some might work.
Some might fail.
Some might turn into something I never imagined.
And a few will probably have my wife looking at me like...
"What the hell are you doing now?" 🤣
But that's part of the fun.
I'm not trying to be 25 again.
I'm not chasing my younger self.
And I'm definitely not interested in spending the rest of my life talking about what I used to do.
I'm interested in finding out what I can still do.
Because getting older is something I can't stop.
But deciding that I'm finished?
That's a choice.
And I've already made mine.
I'm not done.
Not creating.
Not dreaming.
Not learning.
Not competing.
Not living.
And certainly not finding new ways to get myself into some shit.
Welcome to the next chapter.
Wear Your Blessings.
Don Mikey | 162429
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