7 Advantages That Older Multi-Passionate People Have

The best advice I ever received came from my daughter’s preschool teacher.  After I expressed frustration regarding an important life milestone, the teacher helped me get a better perspective.  She looked at me with all the wisdom that a seasoned preschool teacher possessed and profoundly suggested to me, “it might not be her time.”

Leaping from the tender preschool years to our later adult years, we find ourselves dealing with similar frustrations. We’re not meeting imaginary milestones of success we thought we would.

You are entitled to feel frustrated if after years of trying to get your dreams, goals, and passions to the finish line, the end result has been nothing.  You’re all out of next moves and you think that it’s  finally time to roll over and accept the fate that your life will be boring.

Well, I am SO glad to get you at your weakest!  It’s time to put things into perspective.

People successful later in life

I could spout off a list of people who became great after age 30.  The real impressive awards go to the people making it after 50 and beyond.  This would be celebrities like Julia Child, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Grandma Moses, Ronald Reagan.  I have no idea what was going through their heads, was their success a surprise?  A patient rise to the top?  Or pleasantly expected after years of focused, hard work?  The even more pressing question, did they lament over their delayed arrival at fame’s door?

She looked at me with all the wisdom that a seasoned preschool teacher possessed and profoundly suggested to me, “it might not be her time.”

–ReneesRabbitHole

What you have accomplished this far

I suspect they had feelings of doubt and inadequacy to work through.  Almost certainly they had to get to the same point you are at now, grappling with life and pondering a new direction.  It comes down to perspective, where you have come and where you are heading.  Let’s touch on what you have achieved so far:

• You’ve failed.  Wonderful!  It’s good to get that out of the way.  It’s a fact that there is a treasure trove of knowledge gained through the lessons of failure.
• You’ve gotten a few things out of your system.  Face it, there are always a few stray items on a checklist that we need to experience, just so we can cross them off.  Some may be a bit misguided, but the youth in us must be allowed to try.
• You have matured, and with it comes a different perspective on life.  Funny how things look differently than they did in our 20s.  News alert, you will experience similar milestones in perspective with each new decade. You may just get the title of “Late Bloomer”.
• You have cultivated patience.  This is something that pretty much only comes with age (see, there are some perks!).
• You have more time.  If you were raising a family and now find yourself an empty-nester, you finally have new-found time to explore.
• You have more experience.  You’ve been through life, figured the day-to-day things out, learned about paying bills, relationships, being responsible.  You know what you like, and you know what you don’t want.  These are all overwhelming things that a younger person is just starting to work their way through.
• You have stopped caring about what other people think.  There will come a time when the people you feel you had to impress are not important anymore, or not even part of your life.  They have been replaced by family and close friends who have remained at your side, caring and supportive.  Your energy can now find new life serving you in other ways.

Great job! 

Your next move

The question is what is your next move?  You have the wisdom to look at things differently, to make different choices, to redefine success.  You also have come to cultivate a list of the simple things in your life that bring you joy, no matter anyone else’s definition of success.  You may even find yourself craving more of the simple things, instead of material items.  

Or, you can go for it.  Pick a new career, get that website off the ground, start a new business.  You come new and improved, with all kinds of late bloomer improvements that the competition doesn’t have.  Just like the well-seasoned preschool teacher, you have a plethora of gifts to share with the world. 

Remember, it just may be your time.