As part of my job, I'm privy to a lot of private information about employees. Including age. There are times when I'm sitting one-on-one with my co-workers, helping them complete forms or enrollments, and they give me their date of birth. Oftentimes I'm shocked to hear that someone is younger than me when they clearly appear to be much older. I find myself feeling good, flattered, and perhaps even prideful that they have aged significantly worse than I. As much as this boosts my ego, it is so wrong in many other ways. What does it matter if I appear younger than someone? Or older? Why does this make a difference in the meaning of life? And is my ego so shallow that any sign of personal narcissism is acceptable?
The obvious reason this occurs appears to be my own personal preoccupation with age and getting older. However, wrinkles and gray hair should be a badge of honor, not attributes to be hidden. Instead of comparing my own number of years to my co-workers, I need to seek out their stories in order to learn what has brought them to that moment. I need to celebrate the fact that this person in front of me has a captivating story to tell, regardless of age in comparison to me. Spinning my preoccupation with age into this positive format will help me focus on the significance of life rather than simply boosting my self-esteem and shallowness.
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