Limitless Monday: Never Too Old For New Stories

Limitless Monday – New stories

I was visiting a good friend of mine recently while he recuperated from an unpleasant infection which had left him home bound and confined to his couch.

As I ate an olive hors d’oeuvre, he re-lived adventures, the majority of them x-rated, from his younger years. “I was juiced then, not like now; those days are over,” he told me with sadness.

“You have plenty of new stories ahead of you,” I reassured him. We both raised our plastic Diet Pepsi bottles and repeated, “To new stories!”

This exchange was the inspiration for today’s article.I have noticed that people who constantly reminisce are usually resigned to the fact that their best days are behind them.

It’s all downhill from here is their attitude. Although I tell more than my fair share of stories, I am not of this opinion.

Life is a series of phases. Perhaps my friend had passed the partying, late nights, and drinking to excess phase. However each phase is replaced by a new one. Every phase should be viewed as an adventure worthy of many exciting stories.

For without these phases in our lives we would not be the person we are today and the person we will become tomorrow. That’s the point right there. Who do you want to be tomorrow?

If you are happy sitting on a sofa telling stories about your past endeavors, that is fine, but you should remember, we all need fresh stories to keep our lives nourished and our audience interested. Re-runs that are worth watching a second or third time are rare.

A new story is a sign of growth. That you are learning something new. Whether that entails exploring a new country and stumbling out of a bar at 3am after partying with the locals or taking up martial arts and getting your ass handed to you by someone 30 years younger.

It could also mean a new romantic interest, finding a new job, or even turning your back on employment and starting your own business. You are never too old to start the next phase of your life.

The founder of IBM was 61 when he started IBM, Aryanna Huffington was 55 when she founded her online news site that made her famous. My father is planning to sail around Australia at the tender age of 87.

My grandmother always had a new story right up until the very end. One of the pleasures of seeing her was to hear her latest adventure, whether it was her experimentation with marijuana at 90 or the time she attacked a flasher with her handbag.

Her stories kept me enthralled. She had a genuine zest for life.

I once spent 9 months in a North African prison. During the numerous challenging events we encountered, I would often remind my fellow inmate that these events would one day make awesome stories.

As someone once told me, “Remember, this is happening for you, not to you.”

Today, I want you to embrace the current phase of your life. Look to the now and tomorrow for your next stories. And if the current phase of your life revolves around watching Netflix, eating chips, and drinking beer you must ask yourself: what do I want my life to look like tomorrow?

Then start crafting your next batch of page-turning stories for the next phase of your life.

Advertisement

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: What’s your story. Image Credit – Etienne Girardet