Last month I went on an adventure holiday in Guatemala. This involved cycling, hiking up a volcano, kayaking, more hiking and then caving. I had done my best to get fit in advance of going but thanks to work, family matters and various injuries, I was not as fit as I would have liked.
I coped with most of the activities although the hike up the volcano was tough. To be fair, it was a 1 in 5 slope, straight up and at altitude (2600m to 3600m). I also struggled no more than people half my age so I didn’t do that badly.
When it came to the caving, we were basically swimming through the cave, scrambling over waterfalls and sliding through small gaps. I loved every minute of it! So much so that when we came out, I decided to go on a swing over the river and jump off. I mistimed the jump and ended up belly flopping into the water at speed, which bruised my ribs severely!
For the first time ever, I felt my age! I could not do things that previously had never been an issue and my recovery from injury takes longer than ever. My friends will say that I have been my age for a long time as I can be a bit of a grumpy old man at times! However, it did make me think about age.
When we are young, we tend to be ignorant and fearless. We do not know enough to understand the risks or care about the consequences. As we age, we understand more and our bodies are not as nimble as they were so we take more care and are more cautious.
This applies to all aspects of our life. When young, we think that we know everything and tend to reject advice from older people. As we age, we realise that we do not know everything and so look for help from others. Finally, we reach an age where we do know things but we have forgotten most of them!!
As I enter the twilight years of my working life, I really just want to pass on what I have learnt to others so that they can be more effective and efficient sooner. It has taken me nearly 40 years of work to learn what I now know, I would love for others to get there in much less time.
Every time that I get the opportunity, I volunteer to try to pass on what I have learnt to others. Whether this via networking or requests from the local school to be involved in career days, I try to participate to help make even the smallest difference to people trying to navigate their way through the world.
Some of the simple lessons that I have learnt include:
Don’t take short cuts when doing a job. It inevitably leads to a worse outcome than if you had done it properly in the first place.
Don’t ignore the administrative staff, they are important members of the team. They pay your salary and expenses!
It is a small world. You will likely meet people over and over so if you fall out with them, they can come back to haunt you!
If you are looking for help or advice, I’m happy to try to help. Please get in touch.