The “tennis match that wouldn’t end” is a lesson for all of us.  When John Isner and Nicholas Mahut played at Wimbledon this week it took three days (11 hours and 5 minutes of actual play) and 183 games to decide the winner.  By the time it was finished, people all over the world were shaking their heads.  That’s a lot of tennis.

It was sad to have a loser in that match, since both put so much into it.  But we are all winners in what they demonstrated for us.  We got a refresher course in how to keep going.  Many of us are probably thinking differently about whatever it was that we were ready to give up on:  “If those guys could play so hard for so long, maybe I can put a little bit more into this.”

Perserverance.  We learn it as we go through life, but when life is easy, the lessons are pretty rare.    Then when times get tough, it’s hard to remember how to do it.  These guys gave a great demonstration.

As older workers and members of society, it’s even easier to just give up.  When we are looking for a job, there’s often the option of “just retiring” in the back of our heads.  When we are trying to find the right volunteer niche, it’s easy to quit the first time it doesn’t go well.  When we decide to take control of our health, letting the medical establishment decide is merely a matter of getting distracted from your mission.

We need to perservere.  To chase the dreams that we’ve not yet lived.  To create a lifestyle that has meaning and joy.  To respect the uniqueness of our own bodies in how we manage our health.  To not just love but lust for being a part of something good.

We can do that–but only if we make ourselves do that.  It may not be a matter of winning at Wimbledon, but it’s a matter of winning at life.

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Mary Lloyd is a consultant and speaker and author of Supercharged Retirement:  Ditch the Rocking Chair, Trash the Remote, and Do What You Love.

Tags: Anti-aging strategies, living well as we age, Skills, volunteering in retirement

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