Dear LPG, 

I have a few friends who don’t do a lot with their days which worries me somewhat.  I am afraid that I spend quite a lot of time checking out information on the internet and, having checked with a variety of online sources,  I have learned that one of the most important things that older people can do for themselves is to keep busy both mentally and physically.

There are a lot of things left to do in this world no matter how old you are and it disappoints me when I hear friends say that there is a course that they would take, or something that they would really like to do, but that they are discouraged because they are worried about what members of their families might think if they are unable to achieve or successfully get to the other end of whatever they aspire to try.

I am sure that we all remember hearing a teacher or headmaster passing on the advice which was originally given by a Greek philosopher, and then paraphrased in 1927 by Grantland Rice, a great sports writer of his time.  The advice I refer to is ‘It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game’.

I suppose it is human nature, that we are all preoccupied with what others think of us and the results of our efforts, that we are so often put off trying something that we might be seen to fail at whatever the new project we have in mind (a sport, learning to use a computer, writing a book or anything else).  With the experience that most of the readers of LPG’s pages have already amassed, would that we should have a go at anything of interest to us and realise that there is no rush to finish or reach a goal by a certain time.  We should just enjoy continuing to make the effort.

MA Penge