The ship has not sailed
It's Not Too Late Part 2
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it too late for me to...” the answer’s NO and The Uplifters is about to show you why. This space is for purpose-driven women who want to do big, brave things in the second half of their lives.
Over the next few weeks, my goal is to prove to you, one stubborn assumption at a time, that it’s not too late to do big, brave things.
Part 1: You Can’t teach an Old Dog New Tricks.
Part 2: That ship has sailed.
No, this has nothing to do with the Tall Ships that are set to pass by my house later this week. If I miss seeing them, a window will close.
Most of the ships we say have sailed on us are simply docked waiting for us to jump on board. But this “too late” assumption is often the result of a rigid view of what success should look like.
Candace Thompson-Zachery, a dancer and arts advocate who transitioned to arts administration and coaching in midlife, helped me understand this when she said, “It’s never too late to make a decision that is in alignment with your true desire. Sure, maybe if you wanted to be an Olympian and you’re 75, maybe that’s not an option. But maybe there’s another Olympics you could join. Being older makes certain things less realistic, but the essence of the thing is probably still within reach.”
We came up with this example: if your dream is to be a singer and you’re 65, what’s stopping you from going to an open mic? Maybe you’re not recording Grammy Award-winning albums. But could you sing at a local fair? Probably. Could you experience the joy of hearing people clap for you at the end of a long high note? Absolutely. And if the Grammy really is the goal, you’re moving closer to it by singing than by sitting around thinking about whether it’s too late to sing. Plus, you’re performing in front of people who might help you move closer to your goal and strengthening your performing muscles. By performing at the local fair, you might discover that you don’t actually care about the Grammy. Maybe what you really care about is performing for an audience, or being in community with people who love music, or the songwriting more than the performing.
You cannot discover the essence of your desire by thinking about it. You have to move toward it, even in the smallest way, to find out what it actually is.
“Is it too late?” is a thinking problem, and we cannot think our way out of a thinking problem. The only way out is action.
So, a few questions:
Which of your proverbial “ships” have actually sailed? And which ones could you hop aboard through tiny, active experiments?
What’s your version of the local fair? The smaller, realer, readily available shot at the thing you wanted?
The Tall Ships will pass my window whether I’m watching or not. That part’s out of my hands. Most of our other ships are still out there floating, waiting for us to swim toward them.