A Peek at Peaking

When did you peak? Which were your best years? You know what I'm talking about, right? That time in your life when you really had it all going on. You looked good. You felt good. You fit in your own skin. Life seemed full of possibilities.

Were you in your glory during high school? Popular. Beautiful. None of that teenage awkwardness of that 90% of your classmates were feeling? 

Or maybe the college years were it for you. You finally felt free to be you. With hundreds or thousands of potential friends you found a place to belong. You discovered your passion.

Could it be that those young adult years were the best years of your life? The high school school prediction that you were "most likely to succeed" was coming true. Your career took off. You found yourself surrounded by like-minded friends. You joined a gym and lost the freshmen 15. You traded in those college sweats for a personal sense of style.

Or maybe you're one of those for whom marriage and kids came as easily as breathing. You were meant to be a spouse and a parent. You found security, comfort, and contentment in those roles. The PTA, your home, and the community baseball league all offered the sense of fulfillment you'd craved. You attended those high school reunions without a drop of insecurity and gloated noted that the popular kids' glory years were clearly behind them.

Perhaps you blossomed even later. You shook off those clingy kids and rediscovered your spouse. You pursued anew your career or other passion. You started running triathlons. You had an "a ha" moment when you realized you were happy with who you'd become. You attended your high school reunion without feeling the need to gloat over those whose best years were a thing of the past. Or you skipped it altogether because you just didn't see the point.

Is retirement the pinnacle for you? You may have had to wait 70 years for your peak, but now you're living large in newfound freedom from kids, jobs, and mortgage payments. You don't give a crap what the neighbors think and being you has never been easier.

So when did you blossom?

I think for me it was my early-to-mid-30s. I had survived the toddler years. I had settled in to a fulfilling career with a great organization. I was literally kicking ass in Tae Kwon Do. I was surrounded by wonderful friends and my faith was strong. My weirdness had become a natural and somewhat charming part of me. I gave up praying no longer prayed I'd be normal. Occasionally, I even felt content. Good times indeed.

Your 30s aren't a bad time to peak, but I think your 40s might be even better. Just imagine hitting your stride when many of us start to think our best days are behind us and there's nothing exciting to look forward to until retirement. Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway...


Rocker and Blogger
at the Top of His Game


Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Jim. Jim isn't someone I really knew back when we went to high school together, but we've been lucky to reconnect via Facebook. I have the sense that Jim is blossoming now (though I guess "blossoming" sounds rather girly and as evidenced by the picture to your right, Jim exhibits no feminine qualities). Jim will be happy to tell you that he graduated from high school 25 years ago with every intention of being a heavy metal rock star. He gave it the old college try. He gave college the old college try. Neither worked out exactly as he planned, but today he's got it going on.

A year or so ago Jim totally copied off of me and started blogging at www.gojimmygo.net. Where I've gone from three posts a week to one, Jim's gone from zero to 60. The guy easily turns out five posts a week, sometimes more than one a day. And he's not just whining about parenthood, writing about his best buddies, or sharing some snarky insights. No, Jim has engaged his passion for music and film by interviewing stars, or former stars. And he doesn't just share his posts on his personal blog. No, Jim's posts frequently appear on GuitarWorld.com. And Jim doesn't just talk about writing a book that he's got in mind. No, Jim writes the book and solicits the advice of a friend who knows publishing. And then Jim tries to encourage said friend to go for the brass ring and accomplish all the great things that are stuck inside her head. But said friend just doesn't have the energy or enthusiasm anymore. Said friend has peaked and is coming down the other side of the mountain.

I'm hoping that it's possible to peak more than once in a lifetime, and that if and when I do, I've got the mojo that Jim's got working.

Now what about you, your prime, your stride, your peak...? Let's hear your stories. Unless of course you're going to tell me that you've always been comfortable in your skin and there was never a time you weren't your best self. Come on now, no one really wants to hear that stuff. I try to keep these posts upbeat, after all...