Career-wise, being 51 is a difficult age. As a contractor, life experience means something for clients, but hiring a 51-year-old into a company tribe is not something many fresh-faced, entrepreneurial companies make a recruitment priority. People associate energy and commitment with younger ages – which is nuts when you see me hit the dancefloor.
The truth is we are many ages, my true biological age might be 60, my chronological age 51, my emotional age might be 80 and all the time I feel like I’ve got the ‘mojo’ of a 20-year-old inside, if the humour of a 13-year-old!
And whilst I am not a different person from any age previously, I am a developed person – and very different to 20 years ago in so many ways, kinder I think, more informed, I would say less ego, less sweating small things and not looking for the kind of crazy that I may have once craved. I’ve done some travelling, and I’ve been privileged to have met thousands of people from all walks of life from politicians to homeless people. I’m lucky enough to have had what I write published. Today, I’ve settled down into my family and I am content… And yet, I recently thought of everything I never did in my youth and regretted my apathy toward some of those lost goals. One teenage dream that evaporated, was learning a martial art. I reluctantly gave up my precious idle time after school to embark on a few parent-pushed lessons in Judo and Karate, but for some reason, I never graded and gave them up.
Recently, I saw a second chance. My children were doing taekwondo, so my wife and I decided to give it a go. So, amongst the bemused school kids, we sauntered into lessons with bows and half-learned Korean as the overgrown newbies. Learning a new skill with exams at 51 feels against the grain but in a way, it’s cool too. I don’t mind admitting that when it came to grading day I was a nervous wreck – I think I might be a nervous person at heart. I realised this was a million miles out of my comfort zone, standing in a school hall, with parents watching, with a top table of suited ‘multi dan’ black belts judging your every sideways glance.
The moment came and coordinating kicks and punches whilst counting one-to-ten in Korean, felt exactly like spinning a plate on a stick whilst doing a crossword. Despite those disproportionate nerves, I did it and I am now waiting a week for the grading decision. Whatever happens, I am glad that I am proof that you CAN teach an old dog some new tricks and it really is never too late, as long as you have health and say ‘yes’ to something that sounds ridiculously ambitious, once in a while.
Writer for Hire 