Anyone who tells you aging is easy is full of crap. It’s full of unanticipated challenges and pitfalls. The swagger that comes with youth and health is replaced by uncertainty. And an unsteady gait where the unencumbered power used to be. Have you noticed? Or have you shrouded your awareness with new levels of distraction?
Yeah, I notice. I don’t JUMP out of bed anymore, unless I need to get to the bathroom really quick (LOL). I notice. There’s a stiffness in my fingers that was never there before. I could go on, but you get the picture. The thing is, I don’t expect aging to be easy. I don’t actually know what “easy” is.
I don’t mean to imply that I lived a life of strife and misery, as many people have. But I do know struggle. I do know failure. I do know that it’s my unwavering attitude—that I can fight, work hard, and continue to rise after getting knocked down—that will help get me through it.
I’m talking about grit. I’m talking about the opposite of excuses, of blaming others or life for whatever I am facing now or in the future. I’ve never been one to allow troubles to pull me to the bottom, at least for long. I lean into my grit. I use it as a pillar of support when things get hard. Angela Duckworth wrote a great book about it (Grit), and if you’re feeling challenged, it’s a great resource to read.
As long as there is life, there will be a challenge. Grit will get you through it.
