I often wonder why I keep going, when many people of my age have long since retired.
Am I doing someone out of a job?
What about the younger generation coming through who need a chance?
Why don't I just let someone else have go?
Perhaps more personal...
Am I too old?
Am I too tired?
Am I too slow?
Am I too...?
It would be easy to step back given the many challenges that running a business entails. So many reasons to stop - what if I don't meet the clients’ needs, what if I say the wrong thing, what if what I say is misinterpreted, what if people don't find what I say helpful, what if…
Why should I push myself into uncomfortable situations, is it causing harm by being nervous on a daily basis, is it not better to slip back into a comfortable role or to retire completely?
We can always find reasons to stop what we are doing, but that is the easy option. However, it is the very reasons that we find excuses to stop that actually keep us going.
If we do not stretch our self, certain parts of our brain shrink, the important areas that maintain our cognitive skills.
A study found that when people retired at the age of 66 instead of 65, their mortality rates dropped by 11%. Even when accounting for all of the variables possible, many other studies confirm the same.
Working into our later years has many benefits:
- It provides mental stimulation and problem-solving abilities
- Social engagement is associated with delaying chronic disease
- Physical activity leads to better health and sharper thinking
- Multi-generational teams are better than single-generation teams
So, let's look at my list of reasons to give up.
Am I doing someone out of a job? No.
Should the younger generation have an opportunity to do what I do?Absolutely, and there's nothing stopping them.
I can find new clients through numerous methods with word-of-mouth being the biggest opportunity, I am completing yet another diploma after recently published a third book, and I am highly motivated by the challenge that running a business provides.
Am I too old? That depends on the context, age brings more experiences.
Am I too tired? Sometimes, but that's only because I push myself to the maximum.
Am I too slow? Those who know me know the opposite is true.
Pushing ourselves outside of our perceived limit is where we get the best from ourselves. There is no growth in the comfortable, only stagnancy.
It is so easy to find an excuse not to stretch ourselves beyond our perceived limits. It is so easy to dismiss those things we find hard. It is so easy to put things off until tomorrow for we know that tomorrow never comes!
Find comfort in the uncomfortable, find joy in the nervousness, find solace in the fear. For it is these challenges that keep us going, that make us who we are, that bring out the best in us.
The only way to find that control is within us. We are all better and stronger than we think we are, we just don't know how much until we try.
Let's talk!