With aging, you earn the right to be loyal to yourself.

Frances McDormand

Typically, zero number birthdays are no big deal. But to be honest the latest has left me with a bit of a wobble. I mean Bonny 6.0 is grateful and feels accomplished but there is still something that comes with age. For one, the abundance of 30 under 30 this, and 30 under that. Society appears to devalue experience in favor of luck and the short term.

Maybe the only advantage to moving to Mars is to revisit my 30s but to be honest I am not exactly that person. I mean I am not exactly rocking in a chair on my porch sipping lemonade — on second thought — that would be excellent wouldn’t it?

Instead I am picking up heavy things in a YMCA, swimming a few miles in an indoor pool, and hitting the roads and trails for 7 mile plus runs. The ranks behind me seem more worried about the illusion of aging and continue to dye their hair, inject toxin into their faces, and deny the inevitable.

But here is the rub. We are given the gift of life in 365 day increments. Do we want to squander it looking in the rear view mirror instead of embracing our hard-won power? Peter Attia refers to the marginal decade. The decisions and behaviors you make now will impact you in the last decade of your life.

This matters for many reasons. Maybe you want to write that book or learn that new skill to pivot your career. Think of all of the goals outside of your professional life.

I am committing to bigger conversations. Slowly this has happened organically. I love when thoughtful and curious colleagues reach out with ideas and even insights. This year I am doing a few big scary things that could fill me with momentary dread if allowed but I have decided to prepare and rebrand them as opportunities.

If you are an ultra-runner, you are familiar with Chamonix. I decided to buy back a little of my time on my latest European talking tour and run the alps.

I think future Bonny will be pleased…