Have you imagined things you would like to do in your life only to talk yourself out of them because you belive it's too late or you're too old? Then you have company.

It’s common for people to dismiss satisfying ideas and interesting options because of inaccurate assumptions. When my clients express resignation about something they cannot do because of their age, I challenge their thinking by asking: What if your age was not a negative factor? How would you feel about the idea then? Eliminating what appears to be the obvious hurdle can allow someone to zero in on the real issue, which might be fear of failure or fear of the unknown.

Whether you are a 30 year-old contemplating graduate school or a 58 year-old fantasizing a totally new career, it is important to get close enough to the idea to figure out whether or not it reflects what you truly desire. Considering the fact that the oldest person to receive her college degree was 95 and that the second half of life is an increasingly popular life stage in which to change careers, age does not need to be the reason to forego a path toward education or a career change.

Blocks often occur when a person is not clear about what they want and are then distracted by an array of reasons not to change the status quo. One’s age is often a handy excuse not to take the risk. But, the “safe” path can come with a sense of regret.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” - Abraham Lincoln