Photo by archangel_raphael

I heard some people at work sharing war stories.  You know, how many home runs they hit in their senior year in high school; how much hair they used to have; how thin they used to be in college.  I even heard one guy admit that he was just “going through the motions”, that he wasn’t motivated, and that he was more productive when he was younger and less jaded.  Wow.  Pretty honest.

20/20 hindsight

It’s pretty honest because usually, people tend to glorify their past accomplishments.  We put too great an importance on what we’ve already done, and not enough thought into what we plan to do.  Our goals are loosely defined, lacking the clarity of our past endeavors, because they haven’t happened yet.  It’s funny how 20/20 hindsight can sharpen our memories of the past that we’d like to have had.

I ain’t as good as I once was…

It reminds me of that Toby Keith song, As Good as I Once Was, where he laments that he’s a shadow of his former self, but that he’s got enough left in the tank for at least one more try.  I’m no fan of country music (I’m more of a Zeppelin fan); I guess some people like songs about dead dogs, pickup trucks, and the South rising again.  To each his own.  But as I dodged the twangy guitar riffs and cornball references to cowboys and rednecks (his words, not mine), I found a message to take away.

There’s plenty of daylight left

Even though I’m in my forties, I feel that I’m just hitting my stride.  Sure, there are things that came easier when I was younger.  But I also made lots of mistakes in my youth, so things tend to balance out.  I have more tricks up my sleeve than my 20-something self, more rounds in the chamber.  If our youth is the morning of our lives, then our middle age is our afternoon.  I kind of like the afternoon.  It’s when the sun shines brightest.  Which is a good thing, because I’ve still got plenty left to accomplish.

You know the good ole days weren’t always good
And tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems

- Billy Joel, from Keeping the Faith

Maybe we never were as good as we thought we were.  But we can always strive to be better.  As long as there is air in our lungs, we have a chance to do things that will make our past accomplishments pale by comparison.  Start today.  Think about what you’d like to achieve.  It doesn’t matter if you’re going bald, or if you’re 50 pounds heavier than high school.  Even if you’ve “lost a step”, you’ve still got plenty left in the tank.  Write down those goals!

I say, start creating your future today.  Don’t waste another moment by living in the past.

Follow me on Twitter: CorpBarbarian

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