How do you see yourself at 70? What kind of mobility do you envision? How active do you see yourself being in the community? What kind of ‘elderly’ will you be?
Some people may read this and be 70+, while others are imagining more than twice their lifetimes away. Regardless of how much time we might have in front of us, the harsh reality is that there is a finite number of days ahead. I know that’s morose, but we all know it’s true.
Lately I’ve been looking at my life right now and seeing a huge gap between what kind of “old” I want to become and the habits I’m stuck in today. If something doesn’t change, I won’t get where I want to be.
I’m certainly nowhere near there now, that’s for damn sure.
Come With Me On A Self-Care Journey
Life demands so much out of all of us, especially The Hustle.
You know what I’m talking about.
Even if you’re not trying to make a name for yourself or build a business, society urges all of us to keep grinding away at our lives to improve this, obtain that. Consuming is the name of the game, possession of greater and greater stuff is the object and prize. If you’re not trying to get ahead, you’re already streets behind.
You may have heard from the same gurus I have that actually advise 20-somethings to just hustle 80 hour weeks for a decade so they are in a better position by their 30’s than their peers. Sleeplessness, poor diet, sedentary and stressful lifestyles are par for the course for the newly adulted. Nobody bats an eye—‘they can take it, right?’
Maybe. But not forever.
The Road So Far
I’ve been trying to hustle for the last 15 years. Website design, blogging, YouTube Let’s Plays, metaphysical books on Amazon, and a handful of Medium accounts are some of the myriad paths that led me to this day. At 25, it seemed like such a small task to put off my health and well-being for the sake of building something from the ground up; by 40, surely all that work would have paid off.
In some ways, it did. Not the ways I expected.
Sidenote
If you’re not already a Trusted Monster, then you may not have access to the rest of this article. The paywall will prompt you to pay (and you can if you really want to), but only because that’s how Substack works to gate content. If you are interested in reading more, all you have to do is ask!
Send me an email to theaccidentalmonster@yahoo.com (or contact me however we typically communicate) and let me know who you are. Become a Monster Friend and get free access!