It occurred to me that I was over fifty. Approaching sixty. What have I accomplished? Is this all my creator had in mind for me? And what do I plan to accomplish in my golden 25? I figure I have 25 years of good living in front of me, God willing. After that, all bets are off. Don't get me wrong. I expect to live to 90, maybe longer. But I could go tomorrow.
So how does one plan for the next and possibly final 25?
How does one set a course, that if it all pans out, at age 75, one will look back and say, OK, that was cool, now lets do the next 25 right!
It’s odd. My most depressing birthday was 25. At 25, I was facing graduation from law school, the bar exam, marriage before the bar and the start of my life as a member of the "workforce." My easy life, my subsized life was about to end. I was about to begin Real Life. And I wasn't sure I was ready.
The past 25 years have had their ups and downs. Unlike so many of my fellow law students and friends, I have not toiled in one job for 25 years. Rather, I have had various opportunities, challenges, and wonderful experiences thrown at me. I have grown, learned, prospered, suffered, made good decisions, made bad decisions. And I have learned from it all.
So with that knowledge base, how do I make the best of the next 25? How do I ensure that the next 25 will inevitably lead to me thinking, I did what I wanted to do, I am happy with where I am. One of my greatest fears is that I will become a bitter 75 year old man.
The risk is similar for those of you who are now 25. Plan well, work hard and learn from your mistakes and you won’t find yourself to be a bitter 50 year old. There are plenty out there. The grumpy 50+ year olds you run into in the supermarket, in the shops, working service jobs, tending parking booths, are not happy for a good reason. They just followed life where it led them and they had no plan for making sure they would be happy at age 50.
I have trusted fate quite a bit getting to this point. Far more than I should have. Good luck, hard work, a positive attitude and the few brains my brother and sister left for me out of the gene pool, got me by. I suspect I might have done better, but I am not bitter or disappointed. I have three wonderful, successful, fun daughters. I have a lovely, loving wife. We have an incredible extended family relationship that I truly treasure. I am blessed in so many ways, I can’t begin to count them all.
But, while I challenge you who are 25 to plan your future, to take the steps that will lead inevitably to happiness, to shun mediocrity and to lift yourselves out of the ruts we all tend to ride amidst, I must return to my pressing question. How do I plan the next 25? The Ride begins. . . .
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2 comments:
i am intrigued by this blog, sir. hope you keep at it.
ps. i'm enjoying the miracle wifi at rfl.
Life is an adventure. it takes to places you didn't expect and to places you planned for. I wouldn't change any of it, because it shapes you and teaches you along the way. Would I be a different person had i taken a different path? Who knows. it doesn't matter. Only the present and future matter and that you enjoy and learn from the journey. We are going through a challenging time but I know it will work out...it always does. It's all about "positive waves".
K
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