A month-long novel-planning challenge with prizes galore. |
I'm 52, so here's what I've learnt from myself and my (former) friends. * About half of us are more tolerant than we were in our 20s; the rest are far less tolerant. I guess it depends on life experience. * Our brains don't like to think of ourselves as old, but our bodies disagree. I had my last wrestling training session when I was 50, and I was more than just a step slower, though my body knew what to do without really thinking about it. Experience has given me the ability to do, but the body has made things harder to actually do. * Empathy is easier, because there is a greater chance we have experienced what the other person has gone through. * Alcohol tolerance has not changed. I thought it would, but it has remained constant. * Around 2/3 of those I know seem more likely to believe pseudoscience or "false news"... so long as it goes along with what they already believe or want to believe. As younger people, they were more sceptical. * "Better in my day" syndrome is real. I go through it a lot with online communities, films and books. Most other people I know have the issue with music (I don't; modern music can be awesome) and "celebrities" (I reckon they've always been crap). * Aches and pains last longer and take longer to recover from. In 1992 (I was 21) I broke my ankle at a competition. 2 weeks later, I got myself a cortisone injection, cut the plaster off, and competed in the state championships, got 2nd; fast forward to 2018 and I was training for the Masters games in power lifting, popped my shoulder 12 weeks (3 months!) out from the comp (not a dislocation, just a tendon stretch), and ended up having to pull out. * All of us are more nervous when it comes to trying something new. * As can be seen from my blog, the way our emotions go stays rooted in teenagerhood too easily... Hope that is of some help. |