The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams... At Any Age You Want

Chapter 7. You're Old Only When You Think You Are

Age to me means nothing. I can't get old; I'm working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you're working, you stay young. When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age.

—George Burns

While one finds company in himself and his pursuits, he cannot feel old, no matter what his years may be.

—Amos Alcott

Mapmakers in medieval times faced a real problem. They were given the job of charting the continent but were not exactly well traveled themselves. So when they came to a border they had not crossed, they drew fire-breathing dragons toward their own country's boundaries. These maps, when viewed by the common masses, caused people to believe that if they crossed the border, they would be consumed by these infernal beasts. Needless to say, travel agents were having a tough go of it.

Being fully enlightened today, we know there are no dragons to fear. Yet the great majority of the masses never cross the restricting borders they face.

Many people, when challenged to try new things, to go to new places, or to try doing things in a different way, simply refuse. When asked, "Why?" they simply respond, "I don't know—I just don't want to."

We can all try new ventures; we can all stretch our abilities; we can all give more than we do. Each of us has the ability to test our endurance a bit further. Without taking risks, we settle into a quicksand called "complacency." You can make ...