What about greatness at any age? Personally, I know many people my age who don’t see what I’m writing here as their future at all. It’s really important that you consider adopting a mindset that doesn’t limit your possibilities.  The truth is your peak or your personal best can happen at any age. Did you know Mozart composed his first symphony when he was just 8 years old? Quite an impressive achievement for a child. Actually, it’s a notable achievement for someone of any age. Shirley Temple began her acting career at 4 years of age and won an Academy Award when she was only 7!

Those two child prodigies wasted no time leaving their marks on their respective occupations. Others who made amazing contributions appear to have been hibernating for the first several decades of their lives. They didn’t peak in their careers or professions until later in life. Michelangelo designed the famous St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome when he was 72. Dimitrion Yordanidis ran and finished a complete marathon when he was 98!

Some people allow themselves to believe they can do anything at any age. Does that describe you? There are no limits to what these people embrace as possible. By the way, they are no more or less capable than you or I. They just decided to take advantage of the creative power of thought.

Be aware, as you go through your day, that every material thing you see that was created by humans was, at some point, nothing more than a thought. Action was applied to the thought, a manufacturing or creation process happened, and something was created.

You can apply the same life-giving power of thought to experiences. If you want to accomplish something, you can make it happen. Apply a little willpower and determination to an idea. You’ll find you can create the desired result or specific experience and achieve greatness at any age.

Age doesn’t factor into the equation unless you decide it does. I want to say that again so you don’t skip over it. Age doesn’t factor into the equation unless you decide it does! It is possible to enjoy the most success, fulfillment, and excitement of your life in your later years.

It’s never too late to hit your peak and make amazing things happen. That’s what I want to talk about here.

First, we’ll take a look at what reaching your peak means. Then we’ll cover some surprising benefits of living your greatest life in your later years. You will have to face certain challenges, that’s a fact; and we will dive into those as well.

Finally, we’ll break down peaking later in life into four separate areas. These include physical health and wellness, personal growth, socializing, and how to manage stress and stay positive. Let’s start by defining what might seem vague or unclear … hitting your peak. 

What Does Reaching Your Peak Mean?

Water freezes at 32°F (0°C). It boils at 212°F (100°C). Unlike you, water doesn’t get to decide that it would like to freeze or boil at a lower or higher temperature. Mother Nature won’t let that happen.

We humans are obviously much more flexible. No natural law prevents you from achieving just about anything, regardless of how young or old you are. Sometimes we find that hard to believe about ourselves, but it’s true!

You can reach your peak at any age.

This is entirely subjective. You get to decide what peaking means, whether it’s a measure of happiness, success, health or wealth. You can’t do this if you allow society, tradition, or the current status quo to dictate what’s expected of you at any particular age. For instance, if you get your AARP invitation when you turn 50 and figure it’s all over, you will be right. If you believe you can still dream and achieve in your 50s, 60s and well beyond, you will be correct as well.

You Have a Lifetime of Evidence That Proves You Can Always Reach New Heights

The definition of potential is “Showing the ability or capacity to become something in the future.”

Sometimes people incorrectly judge their potential by what they’ve accomplished in the past. This is a very limiting view. Already in your life, you may have outperformed your personal bests in many ways.

When you tried to do something you hadn’t done before, you were successful in different areas of your life. You may not have been a success every time, but you frequently were.

It doesn’t make sense to limit yourself by viewing your potential as something you previously did. You can always do more, achieve more and experience more. All that’s required are desire, determination, and a plan.

Hitting your peak means reaching your potential and then pushing yourself to exceed it. You operate to the best of your abilities and constantly challenge what that means.

Your peak is very personal. The good news is that there is no wrong answer here. You get to decide what reaching your peak means for you.

You may have some physical fitness or health goals. Perhaps you would like to travel the world. You’ve always wanted to start your own business and never took the plunge. Why not do it now? The first step to creating a fulfilling, successful, and exciting life in your later years is defining what that means to you and not to anyone else.

The Benefits of Reaching Your Peak in Later Years

There are a lot of rewards for trying to be your best in your later years. Here are just a few reasons to seek your greatest life experience after you’ve done a lot of living.

Your Success and Productivity Benefit from Years of Experience

When you’re younger, you can go through life expecting a lot. You feel invincible, and your whole life is ahead of you. It’s only natural to expect yourself to do some amazing things. However, sometimes all the success you dream you will achieve when you’re young just doesn’t materialize. Maybe that’s because you simply haven’t lived long enough yet. Spend a few decades living, and you’ll see a lot and do a lot. The longer you live, the more experience you collect. This means that in many endeavors, it might be easier for you to reach your peak performance as a seasoned adult rather than as a younger person.

Your Self-Esteem, Self-Worth, and Self-Confidence Skyrocket

Imagine you’re in your sixties or seventies. Has your life has become a mundane routine? Did you make it this far to sit in a recliner or rocking chair and reminisce about the past or do crossword puzzles? You wake up and decide to push yourself. You decide on a goal you want to achieve.

Your friends and family members tell you you’re crazy. People your age don’t do these types of things, but you don’t listen to them. Your desire to start living life again with gusto is backed by relentless effort, and you meet with success. It wasn’t easy, but you did something incredible. You may have even surprised yourself with what you managed to accomplish.

This sends your self-esteem through the roof and you start to wonder how limitless you really are. Self-confidence grows in every area of your life. Your self-worth dramatically increases because you know you’re capable of so much now. One of the biggest benefits of reaching your peak in later years is the renewed self-appreciation you can achieve.

Mental and Physical Health and Wellness Improve

Your brain and body benefit when you challenge yourself regardless of your age. Setting a goal, working towards it, and achieving it are all good for your mental and physical health and wellness. Having a purpose for getting up every day and getting after life impacts your overall well-being.

You will be consistently active, both physically and mentally. That doesn’t always happen when people settle into their later years. You may find the mental and physical energy to achieve a level of health you haven’t realized in a long time.

Choosing to take this route may very well add years of high-quality living to your life. Your brain is supercharged, and your body can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning when you have a purpose. You have more natural energy to accomplish things and create a great life for yourself and your loved ones when you decide to live up to your potential.

Then a wonderful thing happens.

When you push yourself to reach your peak, your mind notices. It starts demanding more of you. You set one goal and achieve it, so then you figure that since you were successful, why not keep going? Set the bar higher.

Reaching what you believe to be your potential has a wonderful way of illuminating your mind. You begin to realize you can do more than you ever thought you could. This mental outlook leads to a longer and more fulfilling life because you look forward to every day.

You appreciate the quality of life you have created and want more of it. This leads to behaviors and habits that improve your mental and physical health.

Personal Growth and Fulfillment

When you decide something is important, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. If it truly means something to you, and you are successful in an attempt to make it happen, there’s nothing like that personal feeling of fulfillment.

You realize you can grow in many ways and that age is no barrier for you. If you want something badly enough, you can create that experience and grow in ways you may never have imagined. This often happens later in life because you value and treasure your time, and you use it productively.

Along with each achievement you make, you expand what you previously thought were your boundaries. You realize you truly can do anything you set your mind to.

You Inspire Others

When you achieve something you’re not supposed to be able to do because of your age, you can also attract a lot of attention. This gives you the power to help shape other lives. People who haven’t been around as long as you have might marvel at your achievements. It makes them realize they’re not challenging themselves enough, and your example may very well lead them on to accomplish bigger and better things and strive to also achieve greatness at any age.

How many times have you drawn inspiration from others? You had role models much older than you when you were a child. You looked at them and saw what you wanted to be when you grew up. As you moved through young adulthood, you undoubtedly had older people in your life you wanted to emulate.

Now you can be that role model. You may not even know the people you inspire. Any person you encounter when you start living up to your peak potential can be positively influenced by the success and excitement you create.

The message here is to put down the crossword puzzle, get off the couch and create and realize a new dream no matter what your age!

Comments and questions are always welcome, and you can reach me here: Cheryl @ ThinStrongHealthy dot com. I have to write it for you that way so the bots don’t drive me nuts! 😉

I’m here for you, and I’m in this too. Always working to be my best and keep growing no matter what my age.

Why not join me??

Helping You Achieve Major Wellness!

Cheryl

Cheryl A Major, CNWC

I’m author, health coach, and entrepreneur Cheryl A Major, and I would love to connect with you. If you’re new to the world of creating a better mindset for yourself, please check out my training on how to do just that at Embrace Optimism. Learn how to improve your mindset and create a happier and more positive life for yourself and those around you.

 

P.S. Please take a look at the books I’ve written.

P.P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter/X so you won’t miss my daily postings for health, wellness and mindset!