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The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

theatlantic.com

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Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#101

Post by Sai_ »

uonpopular_th wrote: post #84
Sai_ wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone should invent an Oscar Wilde quote generator like they did for Deepak Chopra. I’ve been guilty of using OW’s quotes but does the format have to be so predictable? “The with/of is not that it but that ”. 1. The surprising thing about rain is not that it falls during your parade but that it never does when you have to attend someone else’s. 2. Some people read books to educate themselves, others to subjugate ot…

1 and 2 are great, 3 isn't.

3. The difficulty with my genius is not that it’s there but that you don’t seem have any to recognise mine.

Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#102

Post by LBJsPNS »

tenpies wrote: post #100
uonpopular_th wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. There's just as many opportunities in every age, it's just that you've been burned enough times to realize that the majority of opportunities are nothing of the sort.

I think the better example is that when you're young, the world hasn't sorted you into a bucket yet. Education, university, and your first jobs are largely that process: figuring out in which bucket you'll fit in society. When you're older, if you want to change buckets, there is no easy mechanism. Even going back to university is clunky. It's by no means impossible, but I do wonder if we're missing out as a society…

As the exception to that rule, I changed careers completely in my 60s, and picked up yet another at 66. You are welcome to remain in a bucket, I'm way too busy.

Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#103

Post by nl »

One "interesting" thing about aging as a guy is that male pattern baldness starts at the back of the head where it's really difficult to see on yourself.

I didn't really realize how much hair I'd lost until I saw a random photo of a crowd of people with me in it with my back to the camera. That was quite a surprise.

Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#105

Post by LBJsPNS »

ericol wrote: post #53

What's news, pussycat. If we talk about how I feel, I think I'll be forever 30; that was around the time in my life when I had the most friends, experienced the most, traveled the most and had the most fun. But then, last year I turned 50, and the realization that I have a lot more behind me than ahead is a thought that lives rent free in my mind now.

"the realization that I have a lot more behind me than ahead is a thought that lives rent free in my head now"

That's a limitation you placed on yourself. At 55 I divorced a lead weight and started investigating opportunities. At 67 I am doing more and accomplishing more of my own dreams than I ever have. Don't ever underestimate yourself or your options, no matter what your age.

Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#106

Post by PcChip »

neilk wrote: post #66

I still feel like the upstart who barely knows what he is doing. The only difference is the people around me. I used to be surrounded by people I looked up to, who seemed to know everything. But now everyone around me has become mysteriously less and less competent and they're acting like I am the established authority, which just shows how little they must know!

I feel this, thought I was the only one

Re: The gap between how old you are and how old you think you are

#110

Post by bigger_cheese »

setheron wrote: post #4

Does anyone ever feel older in their head than their body after their 20s?

I'm 38 I'd say I began to feel I was getting older in the last 5 years or so.

I used to go out every Friday night and carry on into the long hours of the night. Nowadays by the time Friday comes around I'm completely exhausted.

I've noticed it with sleep as well - these days if I stay up later than usual or I have a poor night of sleep I really feel it at work the next day.

Lastly my metabolism has changed I've never really struggled with my weight but last 2 years or so I have begun putting on weight and for the first time in my life I am starting to develop a gut. I suspect some of it was due to pandemic and being less active than usual during that time but I really started to notice it towards the end of last year.

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