Something Still Ahead

Something Still Ahead

This week, I heard an NPR story about a group of women in Colorado who play softball together. They call themselves the Colorado Peaches, and their players range in age from their 60s into their 90s.

Yes, their 90s.

What caught my attention wasn’t that they were still able to swing a bat, run the bases, or field a ground ball. It was something one of the women said about why they keep showing up.

Sometimes they don’t feel like it.

There are aches and pains. Some have significant health problems. Their bodies don’t always cooperate. But there’s a practice coming up. A game on the schedule. Teammates expecting them. Something to get ready for and something to look forward to.

A psychologist interviewed for the story, Dr. Samantha Farro, described her hope for a new picture of aging—one in which we recognize that a high quality of life remains possible as we get older.

I think there’s something even more fundamental underneath that idea:

Having a future doesn’t require us to have a big future. We just need something that matters enough to keep moving toward.

The Doors That Close

This can be difficult because aging brings real losses. We shouldn’t minimize them.

There may be things we can no longer do. People who are no longer with us. Roles we’ve had to give up. Physical limitations that aren’t going away.

Aging with purpose doesn’t require pretending otherwise.

The more useful question may be:

How do we honor what’s been lost without closing all the other doors?

We can acknowledge what isn’t possible without deciding that nothing else is possible.

That’s an important distinction.

Play the Climb

I’ve been using the phrase Play the Climb to describe this approach to aging. The Colorado Peaches happen to make the metaphor wonderfully literal.

They’re playing.

But playing the climb isn’t about softball. It’s about continuing to participate in your own future, even when you don’t know exactly where you’re headed.

That may mean trying something new. Returning to something you once enjoyed. Saying yes to an invitation. Joining a group. Learning something you’re not particularly good at.

And that’s another challenge: we have to be willing not to be good at something.

We may make mistakes. Or we may look awkward. We may discover that what we thought would interest us doesn’t.

That’s okay.

Sometimes we get better by mistake. Sometimes a wrong turn shows us where the next path is.

The destination doesn’t have to be completely known.

Look for the Spark

So perhaps the task isn’t to come up with a grand plan for the next chapter of life.

Look for a spark.

Something that interests you. Maybe something you’ve wondered about. Something that gets you out the door when staying home would be easier. Or someone expecting you next Tuesday.

Give that spark a little oxygen and see whether it grows.

You don’t have to know where it will lead.

You just need something still ahead.

You’re not finished becoming.

About the Author

Joseph Casciani, PhD, is a psychologist, author, and founder of the Living to 100 Club™, where he shares practical insights on resilience, aging with purpose, and continuing to move forward throughout life.