CEBU, Philippines — Youth, as it ordinarily seems, is a time of high adventurism and recklessness. It is the time for carefree breezing about or for wasting life away, so to speak. What young people need to understand is that youth is not their last shot at life – but only a preparation for it.
Youth is a time in life where physical and mental energies are at their peak. A young person hardly experiences fatigue. Or if he does, he quickly recovers after just a short period of rest. Whatever vigor is expended is quickly replenished. The young body is robust and at the prime of form and beauty, and the youthful spirit most daring. Hence, youth is the best time for founding a good life.
The best prospects for success are no more pronounced than in young people. The drive for excellence is built into the biological system of youth. Young people are equipped with the potential for continuous peak performance. They have the exuberance and the body-mind ‘flow’ for doing tasks and tackling problems effectively as these come along.
Young people do not simply succumb to weariness. Their fighting spirit cannot be easily quelled. Even their own inexperience often works to their advantage. They are willing to try anything, because they don’t yet have the knowledge of what may not work.
Experimentation is a favorite pastime of young people. The bursting youthful curiosity fuels their journey of discovery. They are easily fired up. Initial success, no matter how small, unleashes more energy for more, bigger undertakings.
Later in life, a person begins to experience a waning of physical and spiritual energies. Fatigue and boredom creep in. There is a waning excitement about life; the ageing person often feels he has seen it all. It becomes more and more difficult to start something; everything seems the same old, boring routine.
Most old people grow somewhat cynical or bored that they often doubt if anything will work. They had been through many failures in the past and the depressing experience had made them rather pessimistic. Mentally, they create reasons why things couldn’t be done and are often too tired to even try. This attitude consequently limits their own prospects for success, and they are launched on a self-created downward spiral.
Fatigue is much more difficult to handle as the person gets older. As physical strength wears out, failure occurs, no matter how hard the effort. Although the mind is eager to work, the body cannot seem to get the job right or even start at it. Mental fatigue grows with the mounting experience of failure, or vice versa.
As the passion for living dissipates, the person performs less and less. The old fellow tires easily, requiring rest after only a short period of working. The few things he does no longer turn out as good as before. And his failing performance brings forth yet a more tiring experience. Failure breeds fatigue, and fatigue makes it harder to get to work, which all the more compounds the failure.
Thus, there is no better time to set life in the right course than in youth. The best time to prepare for life is while still young – at a time when no challenge seems insurmountable, no problem unconquerable, and nothing impossible… when one has still the power to win everything. This is the true purpose of youth.