Mid Life Showoff?

Mid life show off?  Depends.  It’s all in the eye of the beholder isn’t it?  Recently, I heard someone make a few snide remarks about me – “What a showoff.  No shirt.  Trying to impress people”.

“Dude, are you talkin’ to me”?, I asked impatiently.

“I guess I am”, the person said, also sounding impatient.

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to show off.  Went for a run earlier this morning”.

He then says, “Why not wear (baggy) gym shorts”?

To which I respond, “I’m a sprinter, and sprinters never wear baggy shorts.  Ever watch swimmers”?

He quickly says, “Yes, with the skin tight pants”.  “Exactly”, I say.

What was interesting was this:

  1. The person made judgements strictly from my appearance
  2. I never lost my patience
  3. With both walked away feeling better about both of us

Amazing what a little patience, creativity and self-control can do to get better results – skills instilled in me for the past 25 years.  Hope it didn’t look like I was showing off.

What Is A Mid Life Crisis?

What is a mid life crisis?

One thing for sure, it isn’t a mid life celebration.

Just look at the difference in the two words:

  1. Mid Life Crisis
  2. Mid Life Celebration

I mean seriously, if you could only pick one, which would you pick?

Every Man Is Guilty

“Every Man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do”.Voltaire

This thought almost has me speechless.  Seriously.  Wow.

This is a profoundly simple, yet simply profound statement.  Why?

It signifies, perhaps, one of the original seeds of mid life crisis.  We get to mid life and question, “What the heck happened to all my plans to do great things”?

If we are strong enough and focused enough, to have the will to turn our mid life crisis into a mid life celebration, we can realize a second chance in life.  It’s up to each one of us.  And yes, it will NOT be easy, but it will be worth celebrating.  Big time!

Be Afraid to Stop

“Be not afraid of going slowly;  be only afraid of standing still”. Chinese Proverb

I just wrote a blog post at jeff noel.com about this very subject.  About wondering if now is the right time, if the current approach is the right approach.

This type of potential self-doubt and potential fear, can sabatoge us from breaking through to something we can be great at.  And something we should be great at.  It’s just that we are late bloomers and are playing catch up.

This time delay – from creating a compelling vision – to it actually materializing, takes way longer than most people can comprehend.  This is why people give up and stop,

So, be not afraid of going slow.   Be afraid of stopping.

Identify Your Highest Skill

“Identify your highest skill and devote your time to performing it.  Delegate all other skills”. Ronald Brown

Mid life adults get to mid life for a variety of reasons, including luck, passion, focus, discipline, etc.  What we do once we get to mid life is a different game though.

How?

Why?

Many reasons to be sure.  Well, at least if we pay attention. Many people at mid life have the proverbial Mid Life Crisis, lasting from a few hours, a few months, and even a few years.

One of the mid life tips to consider is to do what Ronald Brown suggests.  Only one challenge with that though?

Most have no idea what their highest skill is.  None.  Crisis?  What crisis?