Is Sweet Sixteen Really That Sweet?
Thoughts on life and age from the birthday boy.
Just in case it hasn’t clicked for you yet, I recently turned 16. Two days ago, to be exact. You can write some meaningful comments if you’d like.
I realize that for most people, the sixteenth birthday is a momentous milestone.
16 is the age they can drive all alone (and as fast as they want) or finally get a job to pay off the money they borrowed from their parents.
And of course, 16 means that in two years, they’ll be able to do whatever they want.
“Son, today’s your sixteenth birthday — in just two short years, you’ll be out of the house, cooking your own meals and doing your own laundry!”
How exciting!
But I’ll say one thing. If you consider a grandiose Sweet Sixteen celebration as the norm, my birthday was well below the standard.
You’d probably give it a failing grade. Maybe a D- if you’re generous.
A small cake, a few gifts, numerous hugs, and I went on with my existence.
If you ask me, that’s enough for a birthday.
The Problem With Birthdays
As life goes on, it seems that our perception of age and birthdays changes dramatically.
At 10, birthdays are yet another excuse to beg your parents for toys.
In the teens, birthdays mean getting more responsibilities in the household.
At 20 and 30, your thoughts are, “Damn, life isn’t joking around anymore — I should really get a job.”
And after 50, you really don’t like seeing that number increase every year.
So I think we assign a bit too much value to age.
What’s important is not necessarily the number of years you’ve lived, but how you feel on the inside, both physically and mentally.
I’m not saying this to demotivate you from celebrating your birthday. By all means, share the joy of another year on earth with your family.
I love it too.
But too often, we assume that birthdays are magical keys that unlock portals to maturity, wisdom, or experience.
Instead, I treat my birthdays as “another day at the office.” Another day where you wake up, do your thing and go to bed.
They’re just another day to take small, incremental steps towards your long-term goals.
As James Clear (Atomic Habits) would probably say, they’re another day to improve by 1%.
Maybe 2%, if you’re ambitious.
Age is Just a Number
Everyone has long-term goals they’d like to achieve, sooner or later.
Unfortunately, if we wait too long with those goals, we start using age as an excuse to stop trying for them.
“I’m too old to be competing with these child prodigies.”
“It’s too late to get a PhD.”
“My brain’s too old to start learning a language.”
Remember that is just a number. Sure, it might tell you how much life experience you’ve gained.
But don’t let it solely determine what you do and how you do it.
If you’re the youngest applicant for an internship, don’t let the age difference between you and the others stop you from succeeding. Use it as motivation to be the best you can be.
If you’re getting older and out of shape, don’t let age be an excuse to sit on the couch and do nothing. Let age remind you of the importance of health so that it motivates you to stay mentally and physically fit.
And most importantly, age shouldn’t turn you away from your dreams.
It’s alright to dream, however old or young you may be.
Ambitions are what keep pushing you forward through life.
They’re why you wake up at 5 am, go for a run, or write blogs every day.
Dreams are your “why”.
So with each passing year, keep building yourself up. Keep climbing the mountain.
Use your experience and be the best you can be.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
And once a year, celebrate the progress you’ve made.
(As long as that celebration doesn’t distract you too much.)
