Why Are We So Scared of Turning 30?

life

Just before I turned 30, I thought the world was ending.  How could I turn 30?  Thirty is so old!

Forty wasn’t as bad but as I approached 50, I wanted to do everything I hadn’t done because who knew how much time there was?

After my 17 mile bike ride and 2 mile transition run the other day, I went with my husband to the Bagel Club in Merrick.

As I was standing on line, the man in front of me was talking with a man behind the counter.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you in awhile,” the man who was placing an order said to the order taker.

“Yeah, I feel like my days just meld together,” the order taker said. “And, tomorrow is my birthday. I’m turning 30 but I feel like 40.”

I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it.

The man behind the counter looked at me.

I was thinking that here I’m 52, I’m training for a triathlon. I ran two half marathons this year already and now I’m going to go down to Captiva and do my first tri. My legs were burning. My butt was hurting but all in all I felt pretty good. I don’t feel like 52. I feel great. I feel the same as if I were 20 except now, I’m in better physical shape.

But this poor guy says he feels like he’s 40? What does 40 feel like?  Will he ever feel his age or even better than his age?

Why do we get so caught up in numbers? If we feel good and we’re healthy then why don’t we just focus on that?

4 Comments

  1. Cloris Kylie

    Great questions, Hilary! It all comes down to our expectations. If we expect 40 to feel “old,” then we’ll feel old when we turn 40 or any other so-called “old” age, for that matter. Expectations can be changed, though. And as we change our expectations, our reality changes!

    1. Hilary JM Topper, MPA

      love the way you look at life Cloris! Thanks for sharing!

  2. LisaHJMT

    30 felt old, 32 feels worse ha! 😉

    1. Hilary JM Topper, MPA

      Ha! Enjoy every moment and don’t think about it! 🙂

Comments are closed.