fitover50

It’s hard enough to do everything that needs to be done as it is. I have a pet peeve, however, when it comes to repetitive work that takes up valuable hours of my life and never seems to actually be completed. You know what I mean. Stuff like laundry, dishes, general household maintenance, taking out garbage. . . The stuff you do over and over and over again. Do it today. . . it needs done again the day after tomorrow. Do it this morning. . . it needs done again tonight.

I have this great fantasy of actually accomplishing something meaningful in my life. When I spend hours doing something that is never really done, I feel like my life is draining away right before my eyes. Yet, if I don’t spend the time necessary to complete these repetitive tasks, I am weighed down by the burden of unfinished business. And so it goes.

I guess that’s part of the answer to the questions about the meaning of life. A lot of it is simply doing the stuff that must be done.

I just wish I could have two more hours each day to accomplish the mundane tasks that must be done. Yeah, I know, men in hell want ice water.

One thing I like about being over 50 - I no longer need to make excuses for the decisions I make. I feel that, since I have reached a certain age, there’s no telling just how many more good years I have left. I need to make faster decisions because the clock is ticking and I am very, very aware of that fact.

And so, in light of the fact that there is no time like to present to act, let me just say that I have taken on two new activities in recent weeks. One is spinning, the very high energy cycling program that gives new meaning to the cliche, “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.” The other activity is yoga. The relaxation of yoga helps me to recover from the the super efforts of the spinning class.

I am loving both of these activities. As I state with great regularity, I am always in search of new and different ways to exercise both my mind and my body. Adding these two classes to my life has given me a new perspective on how I am looking at the world. I feel excited, energetic and a little younger, if that’s possible. I have discovered something I didn’t know about before and it has arroused my curiosity to investigate other areas.

I’m open to suggestions. What do you do to add spark to your life? To your exercise program? To your way of looking at the world? Drop an e-mail, share with us here at Fit Over 50.

When I was a child and people would ask me what I wanted to do or to be when I grew up, one of my common answers was to say, “I want to invent something.” I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to invent then. I don’t have any idea what I want to invent now. But I still want to invent something.

The reason for this goal, I have since come to realize, is that I want to leave something behind on this earth after I leave it behind me for whatever may exist beyond my time here. The need to be important in the world exists for most of us, I’m sure. After 50, the need may become an obsession as we realize we are not immortal. There is a time limit to this whole wild, crazy experience we call life. And, to coin a common cliche, “It’s later than you think.”

I spend a lot of time chasing myself around in circles trying to leave that mark on the world. I don’t think I’ve done anything, up to this point in time, that is particularly note-worthy. Beyond a few friends and family members, I can’t imagine who will remember me at all a few years after I’m gone.

I am disturbed by this. I don’t know what to do about it, if anything. I try to do the best I can at my job, in my home, in my marriage and in the world in general. Sure, I’m a good person, whatever that means. But, I’m quite sure there has been nothing up to this day that will earn me a place in the history books, in my community or even as a byline on a blog.

As the new year begins, I find the urge to “Make my Mark” to be greater in me than ever. Have you made your mark yet? Do you think you ever will? Do you have any idea what making your mark might entail? I would love to hear your answer to any of those questions.