Getting better with age

My partner, Warren, loves to watch sports. 

He doesn’t discriminate against any particular type of sport – he loves them all. Warren watches football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, baseball, tennis, and (my personal hell) golf.

I prefer more sophisticated television, like The Bachelorette, Selling Sunset, or similar shows that make me lose all faith in humanity.

Lately, there have been a lot of major sports events – the kickoff of the NFL season, the WNBA playoffs, and the U.S. Open. For the sake of the marriage, I’ve been trying to have a perky attitude about it.

Warren knows that the way to trick me into watching sports is to tell me the human interest story behind the players.

Last week, as we (he) watched the U.S. Open, he told me that this is Serena William’s final season.

Even a non-sports enthusiast like me knows that Serena Williams is widely considered to be the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of both men and women’s tennis.

She has won 23 Grand Slams – which is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in the same calendar year (yes, I googled that).

I’ll admit, I didn’t watch all of her U.S. Open matches, but I did watch the video they played as Serena walked onto the court for her opening match – the one where Queen Latifah payed homage to her. Did you see it?

If not, it’s worth a quick watch…

My favorite line of the video was when Queen Latifah said Serena is the queen of “getting better with age.”

Getting better with age – gah, I love that.

It reminds me of this TED Talk “Let’s End Ageism” with Ashton Applewhite. Ashton’s research shows that one of the most important indicators of good health as we get older is simply our perspective and outlook on aging. 

Warren tells me that Serena doesn’t refer to her final tennis season as a retirement.

She also doesn’t call it a transition – because, she says, the word transition means something very specific to a community of people.

Instead, Serena calls it her evolution.

She says, “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

I love that word – evolve. It implies that Serena has much more to do — more she wants to accomplish in this world. 

She’s dominated the world stage in tennis – but she has other chapters to write.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.

This also gets me inspired about my own road ahead. I’m only 41 – I’ve got decades left in the tank – and much, much more that I want to see, do, create, and build.

How about you?

Are you a new grad, eager to begin seeing clients and making your mark in the world?

Are you a clinician, caring for your clients but knowing you’ve got big ideas brewing about what comes next?

Are you a clinical supervisor, helping cultivate the next generation of therapists, while also honing in on your purpose?

I, for one, can’t wait to see what’s next for you — for all of us — as we get better with age.

As always, if you have any thoughts or reflections you’d like to share with me, I’d love to hear them.