In his book The Magic of Thinking Big, the author David Schwartz discusses three of the greatest excuses people use that prevent them from living their best life possible. One of them is what he refers to as age excusitis. So many people are concerned with their age and use it as an excuse not to try things, start things, or persist with things. Particularly those who are moving further along the chronological age spectrum. As I have just turned 60, I have decided that I am not old, I am ready.

During the week, I got a letter in the mail that confronted and excited me at the same time. That letter was from the Victorian Government and contained my seniors card. Why did that confront me? I looked at the word senior, which is short for senior citizen. In my mind, I tried to compute that and could not. I do not associate myself with the picture of a senior citizen I visualised. I wrestled with that for a while, before the excitement started to kick in. Why was I excited? Because I now get lots of cool discounts on all sorts of stuff for doing nothing but living to 60 and beyond. How cool is that?

In fact, I was out with some mates the other night and was dismayed as I tried to use my senior’s card for the first time, and it was not accepted at the hotel we were eating at. D’oh! Oh well, the time will come, and I will celebrate wildly when it happens. So, as you can imagine, I have spent time reflecting since clocking over the 60-year mark, and I have finally come to the conclusion that I am not old, I am ready. Ready for what? Ready for whatever comes. Ready to live, ready to love, ready to explore, ready for adventure, ready to learn, ready to help, ready to inspire, and ready to use the wisdom I have accumulated over my six decades on this planet to fulfill my mission in life.

The greatest thing about being sixty, is sixty years of life. Sixty years of fun, achievements, lessons, heartbreak, poor choices, opportunities, relationships, personal growth, and experiences that have shaped the man I am today. Certainly, still a work-in-progress, but one with perspective and wisdom that I know will help me as I embrace the next sixty years of life. Yes, that takes me to 120, I know. Why not? There is so much to do here, and I want to stay for as long as I can, making a difference for the time I am upright looking down at the grass. I am so ready and excited for what life has for me moving forward. And I get discounts as well. How great is that?

Each minute, each hour, each day, and each year you are getting chronologically older. That is true. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing or a barrier if instead of getting older, you are getting more expectant and ready for the wonders that await you. Each day you and I live there will be an opportunity to do something that will make you or another person smile. Each day, you will be confronted by something that will teach you a valuable lesson to enhance your experience of life. Each day you and I are getting more ready for what will come your way on a continual basis. Rather than shy away from ageing, embrace it and use it to expand and develop your readiness for great things.

In my podcast this week called Small wins, I speak with the ageless Fred Liberatore. Fred, a successful bodybuilder, trainer, author, and speaker, declared that it was his mother, aged well into her 90’s, who is his mentor in life. As he moves towards his 60 years of age in his own life, he is continually living every day, and enjoying the small wins, to be the best he can be and have the greatest impact on as many lives as he can have.

Age is a number only. How you live and what you focus on will determine the longevity you will enjoy. Embrace each day that passes and another deposit into your wisdom, personal development, and experiences bank. As you move along the chronological scale in your journey of life, just know, you are not getting old, you are getting more ready. Value each day you have, and don’t let one slip past where you can’t find gratitude for what you did, what you learned, or how you impacted another life. Be ready for the best of the rest of your life.