Middle Age Only Means You Can Take a Step Back to Reflect

Time to Take a Break and Re-Evaluate Your Goals

So it’s Leo Season (aka my birthday). Rather than staying at home and drinking with my cat, my friends encourage to make a laid back weekend celebration.

Then I realized something else: I made a lot of changes this year. One of them shows that I’m never too old to accomplish goals. That is something to celebrate!

Sorry, Lola. I Can’t Hang With You Tonight.

With my friends in tow and visiting my favorite Philadelphia haunts The Paris Bisto in Chestnut Hill and Manayunk’s Couch Tomato with a break at a new favorite –  W.P. Palmers Distilling Co.  (the makers of the fine Liberty Gin), I had a great time.

Pastry Prophet Drinking Gin

Spicy Soppressata at The Couch Tomato

Duck Pate from Paris Bistro in Chestnut Hill.

What makes this particular birthday special for me is something I started 7 months ago. Unhappy with my emotional, physical, and economic disposition, I realized something needed to done ASAP.

A previous post explained my decision to take up running and more specifically I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5K. Not to say running is a breeze now, but I’m doing something that I continually get better the more I try.

What I learned from can be applied to anyone’s life.

Here is what I learned after 46 years of living and 7 months of running.

1. Don’t Worry About the Pros – Someone better or faster than you? Don’t worry how you are not as good. Learn at your own pace. Ask their opinion. People usually give their advice to help you rather than hinder.
2. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone – Prefer to run to treadmills because you are afraid that you look stupid. If someone is judging you then they need to get off their fat butt and run with you. You’re cooler than anyone eating Funyuns binging on Netflix. That goes for any endeavor – go back to school, learn a new hobby, etc.
3. Sign Up for a Race – It doesn’t have to be Tough Mudder. Do the Color Run or a community fundraiser. If you have a future goal, you are likely to work hard to obtain it.
4. Do It For Yourself – Don’t train or work hard to make anyone happy except for yourself. I started running because I want to feel better about myself. Grumpy, tired, and depressed with my situation, I knew nothing would change unless I made it change. I’m still grumpy and I know I will not have the same physique as I did at age 20, but I’m happy that my body is changing for the better.
5. Don’t Give Up – You are going to have bad days. Get over it.

I realized I’m not perfect and very likely will never be. I do like the person I am becoming.

Pastry Prophet Discovers W.P. Palmer Distilling