You Are Not yet “too Old” to Do What You Want
Our culture tells us in different ways that we are “too old” for certain jobs, activities, or activities. In game shows, contestants are asked at what age women should stop wearing revealing clothing. Rising stars of the industry get into the lists of successful people “under 30” or “under 40”. The magazine is dedicated to young models who play sports, or older models who can afford enough Botox to look artificially young.
You can walk away from all of this by believing that you are somehow “too old” for professional success, a career change, or certain hobbies, but you’re not. It’s time to fight this mindset once and for all.
You are not “too old” to be relevant at work
It’s easy to start feeling too old in the workplace. Every year new graduates enter the work world ready to enter your company with their fresh ideas and better understand the latest technology or social media platforms. Just because a young colleague has different ideas than yours doesn’t mean your ideas are necessarily bad or outdated. A company with a diverse workforce who have unique perspectives and life experiences is better equipped to succeed if everyone is willing to listen to each other and compromise on decisions. Your experiential understanding of how things are in your field is just as important as the young person’s ideas about how you can modernize your work, and vice versa.
“We feel too old in a professional context because we feel too old as consumers. Then we go to work, take the messages we see on TV and try to convince people that anyone over 35 is still relevant,” explained Lori Rüttimann , HR consultant and author of Betting Yourself: How to Put Yourself to the top and (Finally) Take control of your career .
She suggested looking for “role models who kick ass and make a name for themselves” and then make them your mentors. Look for older people in your community and at work who are doing what you want to do, or even look online for inspiration by reading stories of older people who are killing the game.
“Don’t pretend you’re young,” Ruttimann warned. “There is nothing worse than an older person who tries too hard. Comparison and competition will steal your joy.”
It’s never too late to move forward
You are not stuck in your current job or at any stage in your life just because you have reached a certain age. People change jobs all the time.
“Tip number one is to believe in yourself and what you have always been naturally good at,” said Nita Marie, a mother who gave up her original career after 20 years to become a successful OnlyFans model. “Really ask yourself: if you wanted to be who you want to be, and it didn’t matter how much money you made, it didn’t matter what others thought about it, it didn’t matter if you thought it was good, respectable job or not, but it was something you just enjoyed doing, what would it be? Just trust that answer, whatever it is.”
If the transition to adult entertainment at 40 isn’t exactly what you need, that’s fine. Marie’s story proves that at any moment in life you can radically change your career. Ruttimann added that you can also look for help and inspiration in a variety of places by returning to school and contacting your alumni department.
“Come back and say, ‘I’m a graduate and I need to be introduced. Who do you know in the company or industry where I want to work?” she said. You are sure to find many examples of people who have made careers at different ages. You are far from too old.
You’re not too old to have fun either
If you love k-pop, reality shows or TikTok, you’re good. There are no age restrictions for these items.
“People often create self-limiting narratives about when it’s too late for something, based on their overly rigid and perfectionist ideas about how things should be,” said Brooke Sproul, clinical director and founder of My LA Therapy . She offered to remind herself that the only time that really matters is the time you have ahead of you.
“We have to think about how we want to live the rest of our lives, regardless of our age,” she added. “And really, none of us know how much time we have left, so the only thing we can do is make our life the way we want it to be now.”
Get these BTS tickets. Post this dance to TikTok. Go to the dating app. You will never be as young as you are now, but it doesn’t matter anyway.