It’s Never Too Late

The positivity of realizing it’s never too late is spectacular.

Photo by Enoch Ho on Unsplash

In the United States, at least, there’s a whole cultural phenomenon around “middle age.” Some people celebrate it while others lament it. And let’s be perfectly blunt here — “middle-aged” white men have a certain level of privilege that they take advantage of selfishly more often than selflessly.

Because of the attention surrounding becoming “middle-aged” — there is also a whole idea of no longer being able to do certain things. You’re “over the hill” and “past your prime” and it’s too late for this, that, or the other thing.

This, for the record, is total bullshit. It’s never too late to do anything. It’s only too late so long as you believe that it is.

How many stories are there of people in their 70s and 80s getting college degrees? The oldest swimmer of the English Channel was 71-years old. Retirees start new businesses in their 70s all the time. They didn’t think it was too late to do the thing they did — so why does this narrative continue?

You can work a job for 30 years but then start your own business. It’s possible to raise children and then travel the world. Granted, for some people, this is easier than others because of life situation, experience, where they are from, privilege, and whatnot…