You’re alive. That’s what counts first and foremost in your contributions and accomplishments as a person.

Beyond that, everything else is a perception imposed on you by other people who are alive, and who might not appreciate your contributions and accomplishments as a person.

We’re all people. Age doesn’t matter. Race doesn’t matter. Gender does not matter if you’re going to regard people as true equals, and you should, even transgender does not matter. If you’re a believer in God, you know that we are all equal souls. If the concept of God does not appeal to you, then humanism and democracy support the notion that people have equal rights to

If you’re a believer in God, you know that we are all equal souls. If the concept of God does not appeal to you, then humanism and democracy support the notion that people have equal rights to pursuit of happiness, life and liberty.

But it all comes down to this: What matters in the here and now is that you’re alive.

Age Old Realities

Sure, there are obstacles of nature that change with time and age. I cannot run quite as fast as I once did. But I come pretty close.

By compliment or contrast, I’ve always been a creative person, and still am. What has changed with time is my ability to convert creativity and ideas into reality. In that category of life, I am superior to my 25-year-old self. Vastly. And frankly I was no slouch then either. Having confidence and growing in maturity is the sign of a healthy mind.

In some respects I am on balance even more fit at 57 years of age than I was at 25. My strength work has improved body balance and proportions. I now cycle as well as run, and swim too. All that provides balance and proportion to life.

The other day I finished 8th overall in a duathlon. My time would have placed me third or fourth in the 35-39 age group category. I finished 8th overall.

Don’t let people fool you

The point here is that many people love to pigeonhole you for age and other reasons. That’s true whether you’re perceived as too young or too old for any challenge.

I absolutely hate listening to Baby Boomers malign so-called Millennials as if they were all a herd of people who fall into some maligned category of underachievers or people who don’t appreciate hard work in life. That attitude by my age-group peers is inexcusable. It has not been my experience that this generation has any less talent or work ethic than any other. If anything, it’s the opposite. Denied the same opportunities many generations were offered before, Millennials are creating their own. It may take a few years, but they succeed.

After all, people of a certain age or anywhere in between Millennial and Baby Boomer don’t like to be limited in opportunities by age.

So take it upon yourself not to do that anymore. To anyone.

Because otherwise you can’t count on the fact that someone else is not doing it to you.