New Rule of Aging: You Are Allowed to Be a Beginner at 70.
There’s this weird assumption that by the time you reach 70, you should pretty much have yourself figured out.
You should know what you like.
Know what you're good at.
Know what you're doing.
And preferably not embarrass yourself in public.
I call bullshit.
One of the great things about getting older is that you finally have permission to be bad at things.
When you're younger, being a beginner can feel dangerous. You're building a career. Raising kids. Trying to look competent.
Trying to convince everyone—including yourself—that you know what you're doing.
At 70?
Who cares?
Take the dance class.
Learn to play pickleball.
Try painting.
Take piano lessons.
Make a terrible TikTok.
Learn Italian and butcher every verb.
Go somewhere you've never been and have absolutely no idea what you're doing.
You might be terrible.
Excellent.
Being bad at something is highly underrated. Nobody gives you a medal for being naturally talented at something
you've been doing for 40 years. But trying something completely new? That's where the fun is.
And here's the part nobody tells you:
You don't have to get good.
You don't have to monetize it.
You don't have to turn it into a side hustle.
You don't even have to finish.
You can simply do something badly because you've never done it before.
At this stage of life, I think that's a pretty spectacular privilege.
New rule of aging: Stop trying to impress people with what you already know.
Go be a beginner.
