Mastery isn't just for the young
Pursuing the long road to get good at something has tangible health & happiness benefits at any age.
Summary
We live in a culture promoting hacks and shortcuts to get healthier and happier.
Yet data shows happiness in the United States is dropping. We also are more unhealthy by many measures than other high-income countries.
Engaging deeply in a pastime that requires persistence and deep commitment can ignite the “will to live.” This potentially can help add 7.5 years of lifespan.
How to ignite that “will to live” is central to my new book: NOT TOO LATE: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age - out tomorrow, June 18.
I share more about this journey in two of my favorite publications:
The Wall Street Journal – where I’m also caught on camera muddy with my tongue out, much to my mother’s chagrin.
The 2% newsletter by bestselling author Michael Easter.
Reminder
Today is the last day to order NOT TOO LATE and receive the pre-order bonus.
This includes some very cool stuff including:
A “No Excuses” Workout From Anywhere exercise routine developed by my terrific coaches at Grit Coaching. No fancy equipment needed. Do it at home, in a hotel, at your mother-in-law’s house!
A discount on personal online training with Grit Coaching.
If you are trying to get back into fitness, or want to take your routine to the next level, Grit is a great way to go.
They work with athletes of all ages and abilities. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
A discount code for VJ Shoes.
I can’t recommend these shoes enough. They are lightweight and great for running, hiking or walking on uneven terrain.
The grip on their tread is excellent and has kept me safe for 50+ races. I own eight pairs (all of which I’ve bought myself; no freebies.)
Thank you so much again for the early support of NOT TOO LATE. Pre-orders are a huge part of letting retailers know a book matters.
Post
As I wrote in my friend and fellow author Michael Easter’s 2% newsletter this morning: You can't hack your way to the most important things in life. They require long-term commitment to build and maintain.
This is true about health (respiratory fitness, strength, grip).
It’s also true about long-term happiness. Relationships. Feeling content and settled with where we are in life.
My unlikely midlife pursuit to master the sport of obstacle racing has led me to make small better choices over the past six years.
Choices about when I wake up. What I eat and when. How much I move. When I go to sleep. How much alcohol I consume. I’ve probably put in 4,000 hours of training at this point. And I didn’t start until my late 40s.
Small choices add up. Pursuing this pastime has ignited in me a “will to live” that doused much of the midlife malaise setting in.
Clearly I’m not alone in my belief or actions judging by the 200+ comments to The Wall Street Journal in response to my Saturday essay on mastery. I’m incredibly inspired by people’s journeys.
Trying to take short-cuts for health and happiness will likely leave you with short-term gains. We need a better path forward:
In the latest World Happiness Report, the United States fell out of the top 20 for the first time.
Americans experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries and have among the highest suicide rates.
Let’s talk more about the “will to live.”
7.5 years
Yale epidemiologist Becca Levy found that people with more positive perceptions on aging live 7.5 years longer than those without them.
Central to feeling good about aging is having this “will to live” I mentioned. I talk more about how to cultivate this in NOT TOO LATE.
Because probably like most of you, I’ll take an extra 7.5 years of lifespan.
What is something that makes you want to put down your cellphone? Turn off the TV? Go to sleep an hour earlier? Wake up an hour earlier?
What is something you always wanted to be when you grew up, but haven’t yet pursued?
It goes without saying, I hope, that prioritizing our family, friends and giving back to others matters deeply.
How do we also make room for something exciting and new that we love? Something that kindles that will to live? And how do we stick with it?
Finding time
We’re busy. I get it. We have full lives and are racing around every day to try and get it all done – and yet we’re not getting it all done.
How can we possibly fit in mastering something new?
I felt this way. And yet, I managed to carve out a path thanks to a lot of trial and error and learning from other smart people.
In NOT TOO LATE, I share the tactics and tools that made a difference.
Eliminating “time-suck slices.”
Prioritizing only what was essential to keeping my “crop” alive
The deft art of saying “no.”
Reorganization of my meeting schedules and how email gets handled.
This is how I found 4,000 hours in my life. You probably can too.
What has been most profound is the length of the journey. I’ll likely never fully master this sport. But that “never-ending” aspect means there’s always something to look forward to.
Age is a secret weapon
Don’t get caught up in the trap of “I’m too old” to do something that excites me.
Research from MIT found that in general, “successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young.”
I didn’t learn to climb a 17-foot rope until I was nearly 50-years-old.
In my book, I introduce readers to Muddy Mildred, who in her 80s became one of the oldest women to pursue obstacle course racing. Her advice to me: Stay low on barbed-wire crawls so your hair doesn’t get caught. (Check that Mildred.)
My former boss and mentor at The Wall Street Journal, Joanne Lipman, wrote a great book about reinvention called Next! It’s filled with inspiring stories of people pursuing new adventures at all ages.
Data shows that some abilities, such as word skills, may increase into our 60s and beyond, particularly for women, while others, such as spatial abilities—think assembling furniture or reading a map—hold up into our 80s for men. (h/t Seattle Longitudinal Study.)
That’s a lot of opportunity for later-in-life learning and journeys of mastery.
Thanks for reading. Find something you love. Make it a priority. Learn to get better. Stick with it, especially when it gets hard.
Wendy