We are constantly defined by our age by society, at work, the school system, and online.
Society has consistently expected us to have achieved certain milestones by a certain age or have an age criteria that restricts one from achieving a goal. The context behind “too experienced” is a covert translation of “too old” or “will not be successful in an era of millennial technology”. We prematurely put people of a certain age into stereotypical boxes. See we have lived in a singular society that expects us to have finished university by the age of 22 or to be married by the age of 25 and have kids before our biological clock explodes.People have expectations of what we should be, how we should live and what we should have achieved by the time we are in our twenties, thirties, forties and older. People expect us to act a certain way when we are 40, 50 or 60. So many rules and opinions of how we should be during each decade of our lives.
Our age does not define the speed and depth of our success or the rate at which we grow. In the current era of constant connectivity, we are being watched and watch others with a magnifying glass. The constant blasting of others’ successes creates a tsunami of self doubt amongst societies globally. With the false hunger to gain fame, we forget our purpose, our passion, and our goals. We are distracted by who is getting on the Forbes 30 under 30 list or Fortunes 40 under 40 list because we are racing for the wrong reasons.
It’s never a race to attain success in your 20s or 30s. Every decade of our lives teaches us something very valuable. It takes us 2 decades to really understand whom we are the moment we finish being a teenager. Eliminate the depressed state from society’s or media’s expectation of what an individual of a certain age should achieve. We are only scratching the surface of how we can impact others by the age of 40. In our twenties, we learn, we play the field, we fail. In our thirties we innovate. In our 40s we master ourselves. Conformation to society’s expectation on age kills our will.
Vera wang only began her career as a designer at the age of 40.
Vera wang only began her career as a designer at the age of 40. Stan Lee created his first comic hit, “The Fantastic Four” at the age of 39. Julia child wrote her first cookbook which then launched her career at the age of 50.
Age is just a number. Success does not have an age.