My Grandpa Johnson was a renaissance man in every sense of the word.  He was a master of multiple disciplines and was not afraid to try anything that sparked his interest – he was a builder, a carpenter, an electrician, a high school teacher, a tennis coach, an air force captain, a solo vocalist, a self-taught organist, a guitarist, a knitter, and probably a bunch of additional things I don’t even know about.

I was thinking about him this week because one of my clients is trying to make a decision. 

The decision is whether to go back to school in order to pursue a new interest of hers – at 44 years old.  When she talks about this interest – she lights up.  She is so excited about the prospect of a career surrounding this interest being in her future.  But when it comes right down to applying for the program, she lets her age – and the age she’ll be when she finishes that program and starts a new career – get in her head.  Her brain tells her:

• You’re too old
• You won’t be able to compete with younger learners
• It will be too hard
• You won’t understand the technology
• You lack experience
• You’ll look foolish
• You already have a good job
• This is too big of a challenge
• We’re comfortable the way we are

We talked through some alternate thoughts she could use to redirect her brain. 

Thoughts like:

• Time isn’t moving any slower
• I have more life experience than younger learners, maybe that’s a good thing
• I can do hard things
• There are so many ways to understand technology
• I will learn what I need to learn, when I need to learn it
• We all look foolish sometimes and that’s ok
• Just because I have a good job doesn’t mean I can’t have a great job
• I will grow so much from this challenge
• We’re not meant to be comfortable

James Clear says:

“Most big, deeply satisfying accomplishments in life take at least five years to achieve. This can include building a business, cultivating a loving relationship, writing a book, getting in the best shape of your life, raising a family, and more.

Five years is a long time. It is much slower than most of us would like. If you accept the reality of slow progress, you have every reason to take action today. If you resist the reality of slow progress, five years from now you’ll simply be five years older and still looking for a shortcut.”

You have every reason to take action today. 

Back to Grandpa. After doing A LOT of the things on that list above, he decided he really wanted to be a dentist.  He applied and got into USC dental school and was 13 years older than the oldest student in his program.  He completed his degree with 4 top honors, went on to teach for USC dental school for 5 years, and practiced dentistry in Los Angeles for many, many years.  

Slow progress paid off for him.  It will pay off for my client.  And it will pay off for you and me, too.  

I can’t wait to hear about what you’re making slow progress on!  

And if you’re stuck on where to start, I’m here to help.