Am I too old to achive something?!
Question: I am 30 years old and after a fairly decent start in life I graduated college with a 1st Class Degree things have steadily gone down hill during my 20's. This has been due to a combination of my own personal ill health and my Father's illness, he has cancer and so a lot of things got put on hold while we dealt with that. Anyway now I am 30 overweight, and in a dead end part time job. I did want to be an artist once and I think I still do I want to lose weight and be pretty if I can but I feel it's too late I should have been doing that stuff in my 20's. Anyway do you think that it's too late for me to change my life and achive my dreams?
Answers: I am 30 years old and after a fairly decent start in life I graduated college with a 1st Class Degree things have steadily gone down hill during my 20's. This has been due to a combination of my own personal ill health and my Father's illness, he has cancer and so a lot of things got put on hold while we dealt with that. Anyway now I am 30 overweight, and in a dead end part time job. I did want to be an artist once and I think I still do I want to lose weight and be pretty if I can but I feel it's too late I should have been doing that stuff in my 20's. Anyway do you think that it's too late for me to change my life and achive my dreams?
A mere 30 eh? A yoga teacher once told me that we are infants until 10, kids in our 20s, and teenagers in our 30s til we finally grow up at 40. That was certainly the case with me, at 40 I realised it was time to put to one side the negative thinking (which just sucks the energy out) not waste another moment obsessing on my failings/injustices and grasp life with both hands.
Making one change can make all the difference, for example giving up just one comfort snack a day will help check the weight gain, a short walk - 10 mins - will also have a profound effect.
If you wait until you are pretty/thin enough to be ready to face the world and start to feel some joy in your life it will never happen.These things will come naturally if you concentrate on something more meaningful.
Set a goal - using the SMART rules -
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timebound
- and stick to it. Make it something quite simple because the most important thing is to feel the sweet feeling of success. Why not join an evening class, for example - not a big commitment, would not impact on work and would help you to feel more positive about yourself.
Never let go of your dreams, even if they are now unachieveable (for example, I wanted to be a ballet dancer and at 45 I know this will not happen - but, I do go to adult ballet classes and I can't tell you how much I get out of that - just one hour a week in an otherwise hectic week). Try and scale those dreams using the SMART formula.
Having experienced ill-health, parental illness and the misery of a dead-end job and worrying about your appearance means you have a depth of experience to call upon in your desire to be an artist. Those experiences can only help to make you someone with depth and understanding, very positive traits in today's superficial culture.
You don't need to change your life overnight to achieve your dreams - small but successful steps in the right direction will boost your confidence no end and soon you will be operating as a succesful person and this will show in you. That is what makes people attractive - not the size or prettiness measurement.
Start it tomorrow! Do just one thing! Voluntary work is also a good way to begin the process.
So, write down a SMART goal - maybe an exercise, healthy eating, educational or charitable activity - and STICK TO IT.
Good luck! You are not alone, there's a lot of us who totally understand how you feel. Every day is a struggle, just keep on fighting eh?
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for being so kind and leaving such helpful advice. It is very much appreciated! Report It
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