There’s No Such Thing as Old

I wrote something in The Fibre First Diet that I keep coming back to. There’s no such thing as ‘old.’ Only ‘older.’

And the more people I meet, the more I’m convinced it’s true.

I’m 60. I play tennis, pickleball, or padel most weeks. I snowboard in the winter, I kitesurf in the summer. Last year I was out on the water eFoiling like a teenager. My body doesn’t feel ‘old.’ It feels older than it did at 21, sure. But old? Not a chance.

Here’s the thing. The moment you stop looking forward, you start going backwards. When someone stays curious, keeps learning, keeps setting goals, they carry a kind of energy that age can’t touch. But when the future shrinks and the past takes over, when memories become more important than plans, that’s when people get ‘old.’

Memories matter. Of course they do. But they should always play second fiddle to your aspirations.

I’ve seen this play out in every part of my life. In business, the companies that died were the ones that stopped innovating and started protecting what they had. The ones that thrived were always chasing something new. People are the same.

Your body responds to this too. When you move, when you challenge yourself physically, when you eat real food and give your brain proper fuel, your biology stays in ‘older’ mode. It keeps adapting. It keeps repairing. But sit still, eat rubbish, and stop caring about tomorrow? Your body gets the message loud and clear.

Age is just a number people use as an excuse. I’ve met 40-year-olds who’ve given up and 80-year-olds who are still building something. The difference isn’t genetics. It’s direction.

So ask yourself today. Are you looking forward or looking back?

Your action today: Write down one thing you want to do in the next 12 months that excites you. Not something you have to do. Something you want to do. Aspirations keep you ‘older.’ Giving up makes you ‘old.’