“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

— Henry Ford

I am the proud owner of a middle aged car with a middle aged engine.

The new car smell is gone. It doesn’t go as fast as before. It never looked great, but looks worse now. It’s kind of scratched up. It’s losing it’s paint on top. It doesn’t run as well as it once did and it’s over 40 years old.

In case you thought I would be calling a 40+ year old car ‘middle-aged’, you’re probably a little mystified about now. The vehicle I drive is, in fact, my body and I put it’s middle-aged engine up to a challenge today.

The challenge was being pushed during my noon run. I went for a run with one of my co-workers, Dan. He’s 32. I’m not. During the first half of the run, we set a brisk pace and chatted while we ran. However, after a couple of miles all my talk turned into breathy whispers. By the end of the run, both vehicles were both out of gas.

There was no winner and there was no loser but the older engine had to work hard. That’s a good thing because it’s too easy to drive in the same ruts. The engine needs to get revved up from time to time to keep it fresh. It needs to be pushed.

We all need a good push once in awhile, especially when we’re confident. That push stretches us and helps us grow, and our confidence keeps us strong while we get humbled a bit. It might even help us learn something and Henry Ford says learning will keep us young. He’s right.

I’d like to say I gave something back to my running partner Dan today. Maybe I gave him a good laugh watching the old man huff and puff.

Regardless, I can report happily that the middle-aged vehicle is still in fine shape, even if it is losing a little paint on top.

Sparked challenge response. Also stayed and listened to my son’s first hour-long piano lesson this evening with a new instructor. I was very impressed.