A Letter to All the Late Bloomers
There is nothing like “late success”. It’s just “success”.
I am 36 years old and a struggling writer.
Okay.
But, being 36 and still struggling is nothing to be proud of, Manav.
But I am!
I am a proud late bloomer.
Before accepting myself as a late bloomer, I researched the term “late bloomer.”
A late bloomer is someone who starts late in their career and achieves success later in life.
Another definition: One who has some kind of enlightenment later in their life and starts heading in a definitive direction with early signs of success can also be called a late bloomer.
This article is for all those late bloomers.
Let me share what we face being a late bloomer.
Self-Doubt
If one is onto something big in life, they are bound to face self-doubt.
And if you are doing that thing later in life, which might be unusual for society, then that self-doubt just becomes tenfold.
I was in a well-settled, high-paying job and doing pretty well until the COVID lockdown.
Things changed for me. I thought differently about life after that 2020 lockdown.
I wanted to be a digital nomad. I loved the thought of working from anywhere and at one’s convenience.
Eventually, in 2022, I left my 9-to-5.
It’s been close to two years, and only six months ago I realised and finalised that I will be focusing on my writing. I love writing.
In these two years, I have had an infinite number of instances where I doubted my decision to leave my job.
I still have these kinds of self-doubts.
I try to shrug off those thoughts, but I’ve understood that this is bound to happen.
I see my contemporaries or any established writer and then compare myself against them on a scale called age.
At my age, where were they?
At my age, where are they?
And I get highly depressed. Self-doubt creeps in.
Those times make me feel like I have jumped from a fast-moving train (9-to-5) and am hurt now (aiming to be a writer).
But then comes J.K. Rowling, my forever inspiration. She is an exception that cannot be generalised, but one can have inspiration.
Let me shed some light on her life, which gives me immense energy to keep going.
A single mother living off welfare when she started writing her first Harry Potter book. During her early 30s, her manuscripts were rejected by multiple publications.
But she persevered.
She backed herself.
I still have not been rejected by any publication because I haven’t written anything.
A long way to go for me, and J.K.’s story is my constant inspiration.
Balancing Family Responsibilities
With age comes responsibilities.
One starts a family and has their responsibility. The family in which one is born also requires attention.
When one is young, they have more independence. Things will be done according to their preference, and there will be no one to interfere.
For late bloomers, one cannot plan things with the luxury of time.
Planning is tough.
Be agile. Be flexible.
Work even for five minutes because one cannot get continuous multiple hours.
And they shouldn’t complain.
Age has taught me one good thing. There are just three important aspects of life:
- Work
- Relationships
- Health
And thanks to Ali Abdaal for enlightening me on this thought.
In my current state, I feel my relationships are a priority, even though I took such a big step in life for my work.
I understand this and work accordingly. The time will come when work will have priority.
So, patience is key.
One who inspires me on this front is Sudha Murthy.
She raised two children and supported her husband in building Infosys (one of the biggest tech companies in India). After all this, she managed to be a prolific writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation.
Knowing this never makes me feel that I am wasting my time playing with my son or holidaying with my wife.
Issues with Age
The truth is that after a certain age, one cannot take competitive exams or play international sports.
And one needs to take care of food, nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mental health more than a younger person.
The above two problems are real.
I wanted to become a cricketer, but today I cannot think of being a cricketer. I am late.
Being 36, I have seen my body change at 30 and 35. It needs attention to function.
The only good thing we have is experience.
We know exactly what to focus on, where to focus, and what can destroy our focus. A younger person will not have this arrow in their quiver.
And it’s our most powerful tool.
Still, I might feel weird at times, and then two superheroes come to pick my morale up:
- Colonel Harland Sanders founded KFC at the age of 62.
- Ray Kroc, expanded McDonald’s to become the largest fast-food chain at age 52.
True late bloomers.
I am still 36. Young.
Societal Pressure
If people are talking about you behind your back, then definitely you are doing something great. ~ Kevin Malone (Fictional character from “The Office”)
I started understanding this quote later in my life.
All through my life, it did matter to me what he or she thought about me or said about me.
People think about me in two ways:
- Either I am dumb
- Or I have wasted my life’s precious years
Everything used to impact me.
Until recently, when it stopped bothering me. I truly follow:
“If you tell me that 2 + 2 = 5, I’ll say, ‘Okay, that’s fine.” ~ Keanu Reeves
I stopped giving explanations to anyone.
Nothing in society will ever change. Change your mindset.
If you don’t decide for yourself, people will.
But, Late Success is Also a Success
There is no race in life.
There are no benchmarks concerning the age of a person.
Write your own story.
Do what you care about.
One is bound to be successful once they decide what they want to do.
Trust the process and keep doing it.
It may sound cliché, but I want to say:
Age is just a number.
🧓🏽
