Growing Older But Not Up
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
There's just something about a Jimmy Buffett song . . . But that's a whole different post . . .Most days, I have to admit, I don't feel my age. There are certain routines, I suppose, that come with being at a certain stage of one's life: sleep, wake, eat, shower, drive, work, drive, eat, play, sleep. Repeat. But within that context, I sometimes catch myself thinking, "Gee, at your age, why do you still think that? Or do that? Or want that? Or want to be that?"
Some specific thoughts I've had:
- I think video games are very cool. I'm hardly expert at them, but I sure do have fun playing them—alone, with my son, or online with a group of virtual friends. I have my own XBox, Playstation 2, and City of Heroes account.
- I want to be a published novelist/screenwriter. I'm still at work at this. Even after twenty years I hold onto this dream. Maybe I just don't know when to give up, but I don't see why I should.
- My career is not my life. It's a means to pay the bills and to develop and exercise skills that I have acquired over the years, but it does not define who I am.
I'm not really sure where I was heading with this, but thought I'd share . . .
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The great part is that being grown-up means not having other people define you, that you can play video games without caring what others think, that you can continue onward with determination, or kick back in a lawn chair.
When we're young so much brain space is taken up by worrying about what others think, doing things the right way. Well, I've discovered over the years that doing things the "right" way generally gets me no where. But doing them my way, makes for a lot of progress.
Drop what you think people expect of you, and you find a nice trail back to yourself.
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