Never too old

We often hear older people say, “you are never too old to learn something new” or “you are never too old and it’s never too late.” My grandpa is 75-years-old and he still gets out there and plays wiffle ball with his grandkids every summer. My other grandpa learned to drive a boat when he was 72-years-old because he wanted to spend his retirement by the lake and didn’t just want to watch the boats go by, he wanted to be one of them cruising around. My grandmas are just as inspiring. They stay active by going to classes at the YMCA and I am pretty sure they both have busier social lives than I do. Needless to say, my grandparents are truly living out these quotes. But why do I bring this up?

So often I catch myself feeling as if I am too old to try something new. If I haven’t learned to ski by now, then its not going to happen. I have also always been terrified of water, so every time my parents put me in swim lessons, I learned nothing because I was the kid crying in the corner. Now I regret not learning how to properly swim, but I also feel too old to sign up for lessons. My family loves hockey and my dad still plays in a league several nights a week. I love watching the players skate and am amazed at how confident they are on the ice. Ice skating and roller skating are two things I have also always wanted to be good at but have never taken the time to practice.

Although my list could go on of things I would love to learn how to do, I think it’s best to stop there and talk about what we can learn from it. It is easy to live in our comfort zone, to keep doing the things we know we are good at and not risk embarrassing ourselves. However, when you learn something you thought you were too old to do, you will not only find a new hobby, but you will also grow your knowledge and self-confidence. Last winter I went skiing with a family whose favorite Christmas tradition is to go skiing, I spent the first couple of days of the trips learning how to ski on the bunny hills, but by the second half of the trip, I was ripping down the blues alongside everyone else. Just this past weekend I went roller-skating and loved it so much that roller skates are now on my Christmas list. So, next time you feel you are too old to learn something new, just remember, “you are never too old and it’s never too late.”