Brazenly appearing in my reflection are a few white strands poking from my halo. The mirror in the bathroom shows me that my hair is beginning to turn and reminds me I cannot stop time.
Try as I might by eating leafy greens and performing burpees ad nauseam, my denial of growing older is staunch. More than my hair turning to salt & pepper, forfeiting my athletic talents I’ve worked for and held most of my life is not something I will do willingly. But having past my 20th decade of life, I fear I am beyond whatever physical greatness I can achieve.
Fortunately though, seeing today’s top athletes gives me hope of a longer clock to work with.
Defying age
On the night of his last race of his career in London in the summer of 2017, Usain Bolt was supposed walk out of the sport just as he entered: on top of the world as the fastest man alive. A fierce competitor and a ceaseless foe of Usain’s, Justin Gatlin stood next to him at the starting line ready to ruin the Jamaican’s final send off in the 100m dash.
9.92 seconds later, Gatlin achieved his goal and won the gold medal, handing Usain Bolt his truly first loss of his professional career. While the time was not spectacular—Bolt lost for his slow time, not that Gatlin was amazingly fast—what was spectacular was how much older Gatlin was than his competitors. He won the World Championships at the age of 35, an age way past that of an explosive sprinter.
Over his professional career since 2002, Gatlin never really got faster though. Instead, Bolt got slower.
Unraveling the reason for Gatlin’s longevity and success on the track leads us to two particular habits of his. One, Gatlin still had the drive to be the best and take down the most legendary sprinter in history. He reportedly doubled-down with focus both in his lifestyle and training. Bolt on the other had had perpetual success which contributed to a laziness in training and a lack of hunger to win—he already held numerous world records and was his only true competition.
Second, later in his career Gatlin was taught the importance of taking care of the body to aid recovery and keep performance up. A frequent partier, Bolt skipped sleep and routinely binged on the Dom. This lifestyle appears to have eroded his raw talent and led to his downfall.
This sense of purpose and drive mixed with proper physical maintenance through wellness kept Gatlin’s dreams alive while Bolt’s lost steam. And Gatlin isn’t the only professional to unlock the potential for maximum performance well beyond their prime.
Tom Brady may be the greatest football quarterback in the history of the game. Winner of 5 NFL Superbowl Champions and multiple Superbowl and League MVPs, Brady will forever be remembered as the GOAT (greatest of all time).
What makes him even more special is that he continues to excel at the age of 40.
Similar to Gatlin, Tom Brady is driven to continue to be the best and for years to come. Watching his gameplay or press conferences, it’s easy to see that Brady is a master of learning and improving upon mistakes. His obsession with wellness is also well-known; he’s launched his own book and app describing his eccentric methods for maintaining health and pliability which he contributes to his career longevity.
And there are others like Lebron James with 15 seasons in the NBA under his belt or Serena Williams at the age of 36 who continue to dominate their sport and appear to be getting better with age.
Translating lasting greatness to you
Examples like these of professional athletes continuing to play the game they love well past their prime provide a path for the commoner like us to follow to stay dominant with our skills.
Their lasting greatness is underscored by a common principle of having something still to prove and recognizing how much they rely on their body to achieve such goals.
The human body is built and strengthened from continuous challenge and strain, both mental and physical. Muscle is built by resisting the weight of gravity and the brain by solving problems and learning. Without working both of these organs, they atrophy and waste away.
An example that illustrates this disuse is seen in many people who retire, something Brady and Gatlin are trying to elude. Retirees believe they can relax and enjoy life having worked so hard for so long. What is lost in this state of mind though, is a hunger for achievement, the strain of challenge, and upkeep of habits that nourish their being.
They forget that the struggle to get to retirement is what made them the strong and wise person they are and that in its absence their vigor evaporates. It is without challenge that the body and mind relieve its feeling of being depended on and the process of wasting begins.
Brady and Gatlin’s example provide a stark contrast to the behaviors of retirement that help explain why they continue to succeed rather than surrender to old age. They still attack life like there’s something to prove and treat their body and minds like they are needed. In doing so, both men delay the decline of aging and continue to do what they love.
Their principles apply to all of us, whether athletes or not, young or old. The moment we no longer need to achieve is the moment we no longer depend on our bodies and minds for daily life and is when aging will overtake us and accelerate.
Complacency and extended comfort is not an affordable luxury for us humans. Everyday needs to be treated as if there is something to lose. Whether staying socially engaged, producing creative works, or straining your body, treating whatever personal traits you care for as if they are needed will force a response to protect them.
To achieve my a 2018 goals, I will challenge my mind and my body to let them know I need them and that I value all they give me.
While I cannot forever escape the reality of life and the effects of time, I understand that to keep my abilities around for as long as possible I need to cherish what I have and treat them like my life depends on it.
The Healthy Pharmacist 
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