Why You’re Never Too Old to Start Again

The biggest mistake people make is that they quit too early.

They give up on themselves.

I don't mean early as in one year in, or even one week or one month. I'm talking about quitting before you're 30, 40 or 50.

I'm talking about having something that you really want to do in life and, by the time you really get around to doing it, or at least giving it your best shot, thinking that it's too late – and not doing it all.

Maybe there was something – a hobby or career path – that you started when you were 15, 20 or 25 years old. But life took a few turns: you weren't mature enough, you went through some tough times, you couldn't handle the expectation, and you ended up taking another path.

Or maybe you were quite successful at something at a very young age, but things went pear-shaped in some way: maybe the success faded, maybe you couldn't handle the responsibility, maybe you were in a bad place emotionally and took a break and never went back.

Maybe when you should have gone back you had new responsibilities to take care of: you had to get a real job, you did what your parents expected you to do, you did what you thought you should be doing rather than what you wanted to do – you took what you thought was an easier path.

Now, all these years on, you find yourself in a position where you want to get back on that pathway.

Emotionally, you are in a better place.

You have the resources at your disposal, you have a stronger vision, and you have the maturity and the experience behind you to get back to doing what you love.

The problem is, it's 10, 20 or 30 years down the line. Things have changed, times have changed.

The people around you are talking about retiring, maybe having another child, taking up golf or getting a bigger TV.

They say they feel tired and that they're getting old, that they have wrinkles and “can't handle the late night's any more”.

The people around you are into reality TV, surfing Facebook, shopping online of an evening and taking any opportunity they can to sit down.

It comes with age, right?

But you don't feel like that.

You've got a fire in your belly.

Something is pulling at your soul.

You don't feel old at all.

If anything, you feel more energized and committed than you have ever done.

You don't recognize the place that other people around you are in.

You recognize that you could achieve so much in the next 10, 20 or 30 years.

In fact, you feel like you can achieve a hell of a lot in three months, six months or a year.

You could put your heart and soul back into doing what you love and, not do it in pursuit of money or fame, but because it's your passion: because you enjoy the journey, you enjoy the commitment, you enjoy the process, the self-development, the reward of the doing, the creativity, the intuitive endeavor.

But you know it's gonna be a lonely ride, right?

Because people won't really get it. And that's a little scary.

They'll probably think it's a midlife crisis; like you're going back to doing something you used to do when you were “young”.

They'll probably think “you're a bit old for all that”.

But here's the thing: you are exactly the right age to do this.

You are in exactly the right place to do this.

This is exactly the right time.

There has never been a better time.

There has never been a better moment to get restarted.

Whatever is in your head that you want to do, make a commitment to doing it every day from now on.

Even if it's just 15 minutes of whatever it is: 15 minutes practice, 15 minutes reading, 15 minutes drawing, 15 minutes writing, 15 minutes running. Whatever, now is the perfect time.

Once you start doing it, you'll feel even more energized and revitalized. You'll feel reconnected with yourself and in better alignment with the universe.

But know this…

There will be many days when you doubt yourself:

Am I any good at this?

Am I too old?

Do people think I'm stupid?

Does anyone really care?

Is this a waste of time?

But the truth is: If it doesn't scare you a little, if it doesn't come with a little doubt, it's probably not worth doing.

Everything worth doing comes with a little fear, a little discomfort.

The only thing that matters is that you do it.

Everything else will fall into place.

You won't lie on your deathbed and regret doing this.

And people will only end up admiring you for doing it, even from afar, and even if they don't say so.

This is your life, your journey.

People die before they reach 10 years old, before they reach their 20s, in their 30s and 40s. It's tragic.

You are still here.

And while you're still here, you have the opportunity to do this.

Don't stand in the way of yourself. Don't resist your intuition and the magnet that is pulling you towards what you want to do.

Stop making excuses.

Start now.

Get Email Updates

Join 20,000 other mindful thinkers.