As a rapidly aging fellow, of course I am naturally drawn to any shred of evidence that my best years are not, in fact, behind me. This thoughtful Atlantic article about late bloomers includes plenty of anecdotal evidence of people who peaked late, not early, which is some small comfort. However, after the initial dopamine hit of potentially not being washed wore off, there were even deeper insights to enjoy, like this great quote:

We have a notion that the happiest people are those who have aimed their life toward some goal and then attained it, like winning a championship trophy or achieving renown. But the best moments of life can be found within the lifelong learning or quest itself. It’s doing something so fulfilling that the work is its own reward. “Effort is the one thing that gives meaning to life,” the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck once wrote. “Effort means you care about something.”

That gives hope to us olds, almost-olds, or seriously-olds! Because that means as long as there is an ounce of life left, that’s a scoop of effort left to put toward something worthwhile.

So…
What have pursuits or goals have you put the most effort toward in the last year? Or in your life as a whole?

If you could take back some of that effort and reassign it to something else, what would you choose? Why did you make that original choice, and why would you change it?

What would you love to spend more effort on in the future that you aren’t already?