Has Age Made You Braver?

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
I'm thinking of the folks who take up mountain climbing and sky diving in later life...white water rafting? Swimming with sharks? Hey life's too short not to experience everything right? But no that's not me. But even simple stuff, are you braver, more self confident than when you were younger?

For instance tonight...my baby boy is an easygoing guy. Except cleaning his ears. Perhaps he never had his ears invaded before he came here. But for dogs with flopped over ears you have to get in there and clean sometimes. It used to take three people to do his ears when we first got him.

Then he calmed a bit seeing how Sophie didn't mind. But tonight he got bratty. The bigger and stronger your dog...you have to nip it in the bud. He decided to show teeth when I got in his ears. Those pretty choppers could hypothetically bite through sheet metal...No way was I having that.

You don't want to ever be physical. But you can convey much with voice tone. "WHAT do you think you're DOING? You NEVER do THAT do you HEAR ME, I am the almighty ******* food giver person, YOU will listen to ME!"...poor man dropped his head and looked so sad. I motioned him into my lap a few minutes later and all is forgiven.

But ten years ago I had never really had any dog experience at all and very soft spoken in reality...but we do learn.
 

A little bit of both, I guess. I'm better about standing up for myself (as in not letting people take advantage of me, etc.) but physically no. I know my limitations, and I know I'm not bulletproof (as most of think we are in our teens/early adulthood), and I don't do foolhardy stuff.
 
I think I'm equally brave mentally, but have way less energy to take on risky endeavors now. Funny how the first thing that comes to mind is "exhausting," rather than "exhilarating." I'll leave the raft trips and mountain hikes to others.
 
Not exactly 'old' but in my 40's I started doing things like white water rafting, sea kayaking, a solo trip in a rental car to Ireland at age 46, another marriage and a move abroad at age 48, agreeing to live in Uganda for two years at age 55. I'm more adventurous and more eager to experience different cultures.

I haven't sky dived but would like to although I'd probably chicken out at the last minute. I'm afraid of riding on the back of a motorbike and was relieved we couldn't rent one in Thailand as our travel insurance didn't cover it, but I'll go barreling down a steep hill in my electric bike - in a helmet of course.
 
One of the reasons I have made it to 84 is because I was never very brave to begin with. Certainly not feeling very heroic these days!
I'll just share the adventures of people like Ameriscot from behind the safety of my computer screen.:popcorn:
 
I saw a TV programme some time ago on which it was suggested that the older we are, it makes good sense to take more risks.
The logic was that any activity carries a fixed risk of being killed, while the risk of dying naturally increases with age. Therefore as you get older, 'dangerous' activities become relatively less risky so older people have little to lose by trying them.
 
Capt Lightning said:
I saw a TV programme some time ago on which it was suggested that the older we are, it makes good sense to take more risks.
The logic was that any activity carries a fixed risk of being killed, while the risk of dying naturally increases with age. Therefore as you get older, 'dangerous' activities become relatively less risky so older people have little to lose by trying them.
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Not sure I agree with that logic - might be true on paper, but even if I have less years to lose, not getting killed doing something risky is just as important to me as it ever was.
 
I've always heard that at the end of our days it's what we didn't do that we regret more than what we did do.

As I aged I found playing it safe and not taking chances to be boring.
 
Butterfly said:
Not sure I agree with that logic - might be true on paper, but even if I have less years to lose, not getting killed doing something risky is just as important to me as it ever was.
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Risky doesn't necessarily mean life threatening. Some people won't fly because they think it's dangerous. And the chances of dying in a car are exponentially more dangerous.

I have a friend who has a high powered job and is very strong in many ways. But she is terrified of riding a bike even on bike trails with no traffic, or going in a kayak, even in calm water on a tandem boat.

Life is short. Not much fun being wrapped up in a protective shell.
 
Ralphy1 said:
No, but you might live to a boring old age..��
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Why would it have to be boring? I'm not one to sit in a rocking chair. Even if I have physical issues later there's still a lot I could do. Wheelchair with battery if needed. Hubby could get a sidecar on his bike. I could still travel. Now, dementia, that's a different story.
 
One out three will develop some form of dementia. I have two sisters with it and I am very thankful that I missed it; I can still enjoy some aspects of living with my health issues...
 
Unfortunately not. That has been one of my disappointments of late. My nickname used to be "bulldog" but due to some circumstances over the years, my bulldog is now bull****. But I am working on it...hope to find the happy medium.
 
Ralphy1 said:
I was born a coward and age has only made me a bigger one...
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So was I, Ralphy, but maybe we could feel better by calling ourselves "smart". Gotta' be doing something right. The vast majority of people we started out with are not participating in this discussion. :xbone:
 
Ameriscot said:
Why would it have to be boring? I'm not one to sit in a rocking chair. Even if I have physical issues later there's still a lot I could do. Wheelchair with battery if needed. Hubby could get a sidecar on his bike. I could still travel. Now, dementia, that's a different story.[/QUOTE}

If your brain is good, there's no need to ever be bored. Plenty to think about in this life. I can amuse myself in a closet. ( No. Not that way! )
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Underock1 said:
Ameriscot said:
Why would it have to be boring? I'm not one to sit in a rocking chair. Even if I have physical issues later there's still a lot I could do. Wheelchair with battery if needed. Hubby could get a sidecar on his bike. I could still travel. Now, dementia, that's a different story.[/QUOTE}

If your brain is good, there's no need to ever be bored. Plenty to think about in this life. I can amuse myself in a closet. ( No. Not that way! )
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There is no reason to ever be bored!
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