I’ve stood at a very scary, but real, place recently – the Threshold of Old.

I’ve mentioned my late grandmother’s prescription for not stepping across that threshold. When you inquired how she was doing, she would say, “I’m getting old.” She never said that she was old; she was just getting there. That mindset kept her sharp as a tack until she left us in her 90s.

I found myself at a choice point. Just like you can feel a new season coming on, I felt a change coming over me and I knew I had to make a choice. My actions at this choice point would either have me cross over the Threshold of Old or take a more active route. Reminds me of a story . . .

About 9 years ago I attended a personal development workshop where there was a man who was the age I am now. The leader of the workshop asked him why he came. He said that he noticed that people of his age group were slipping into very mundane routines and they moved at a much slower pace than he wanted for himself. He said, “I don’t want to shuffle around like them; I want to walk and act with more purpose.”

He was at the Threshold of Old and he chose another route.

The Threshold of Old can come at any age. Have you ever noticed that there are a number of younger people that act like they are in their advanced years? They have crossed the threshold.

Once you cross over, it’s difficult to come back, but not impossible.

Let me make a distinction worth noting here. This isn’t about aging. That happens to all of us. This is about being old which is a mindset. Aging can lead to the Threshold of Old, especially if you lack awareness that the threshold exists. It’s this gift of awareness that I’m alluding to here.

The mindset of old will age you quicker than Father Time. It sneaks up on you and puts you in a comfort zone known as a rut. Being in this comfortable rut will have your bones creak more often and your zest for life sitting like a bird on the windowsill ready to take off and leave.

You just have to notice you’re at a choice point or that you have already crossed over. It’s this awareness that will give you the wherewithal to make another choice – one that leads to vitality vs. lethargy.

I’m happy I received this gift of awareness. It takes all the excuses away and only presents choices.

You do have a choice; so what will you choose? One route is a greased skid to being helpless; the other is filled with the promise of tomorrow. Choose wisely.

All the best,

John

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