The Mysteries of Aging by Mark Stone

September 2024. I am 64 years old. That's the first time I've said that out loud on LinkedIn. Based on my health, energy, and fitness routine, I feel I easily have another decade of high performance work ahead of me, maybe more. In tech, that's an eternity.

But you never know. I listened to an interview with Nancy Pelosi today, and she sounds as sharp and energized as ever, despite being three years older than Joe Biden. By contrast, Biden made the right decision to step aside.

So here's an optimistic way of looking at things for my older colleagues, and perhaps a humbling way of looking at things for my younger colleagues. I know this approach has brought me some helpful humility over the years.

I'm a distance runner. One of my post-race rituals is to look at the results for a race, and identify all of the runners who are both older than me and faster than me. Then I make a choice; I choose to be inspired by my betters, rather than dismayed.

Which led me to an odd moment this June. I had completed the Echo Valley 50K up in the North Cascades, and a couple of days later when the results were posted, sat down to go through my usual ritual. Except this time, there was no one who was both older and faster than me. I was the oldest finisher. So now I'm the one that some other runner can look at as someone that is older and faster than they are. I hope they feel inspired.

So what does this mean in work, rather than in sport? It means that, no matter where you are in your professional journey, there is likely someone in your field who is both older than you and outperforming you. That's not a bad thing. It's an opportunity to learn and be inspired.

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