#age #GettingBetterWithAge #HumanBody #athletes #singers
Some things get better with age.

Wine and whiskey immediately come to mind.

The human body usually does not.

If you do physical work, generally, there will come a time when you will no longer be able to.

More often, though, if you do something physical, your body will tell you when it’s time to stop. But the question becomes, will you listen to your body?

Or, will you keep going, thinking that you can still do it, even when you can’t?

Let’s use the examples of athletes and singers. If you are a good athlete, you figure on a career that will last, hopefully, 20 years or so, barring injury.

As an athlete, it’s up to you to notice when your skills are fading. By the way, kudos to the athletes who can still play competitively well beyond their prime. Advances in training, treatments etc., along with some good luck, have kept some athletes hanging in, even doing well, after a couple of decades of competition.

Generally, though, an athlete knows, or should know, when it’s time to retire. Sometimes, those decisions are made for them. But, usually, athletes have enough pride in their games that they do not want to embarrass themselves by playing on too late in life.

Many singers, however, do not know when to stop. Even when it’s clear to the average observer that a singer, who may have been really good decades ago, can no longer sing, as he or she did, they keep singing.

Fans, perhaps those who don’t want these singers out of the picture yet, continue to pay large sums to see these old singers perform, even if the songs don’t sound quite the same as they remember.

As long as people pay, they’ll keep singing. Some of that might be pressure from their advisers and handlers, who still want to keep making money off these singers. But, here’s the question: if you were once a great singer, and you no longer sound the same after 30, 40 or even 50 years, do you have enough pride – certainly you should have enough money, if you’ve had many hits – to stop performing?

Perhaps you should find a tribute performer(s) to carry on your legacy. Sure, the fans won’t pay the same money for tribute performers, but they will sound more like you than you do now.

It must be difficult to have achieved fame and a following, and have to give it up. Both athletes and singers face the same decision at some point.

But, at least for some fans, it can be torture to listen to someone you’ve admired for years not being able to hit the notes he or she once hit easily. It’s also difficult to watch a singer, whose songs you know note for note, cheat his or her way through a concert by substituting lower notes.


If your God-given talent and endless work has made you good at something physical, remember that your body will tell you when it can no longer do what you want. Listen to your body. Avoid embarrassment. Let the younger talent in your trade carry on.

Peter