How many times have we heard the expression age is just a number? Whenever we hear about that lonely old man finding true love in his late 60s. That woman entrepreneur, who made it big with her fashion brand after a difficult divorce. The emphasis is always on the ability to transform one’s own life at any age. Certainly, there could be many inspiring stories of people realizing their true potential or getting lucky at a stage when others would have given up. However, as they say, exceptions are not the rule.

Nobody forewarns us about the physiological changes we will go through as we age, which not only limits our ability to perform but also restricts and redirects our priorities in life. Aging is not just some random number, hovering over our heads like a halo. In fact, so many things are linked to it. With age, our thinking and actions change, while we don’t pay attention.

For instance, when it comes to cognitive abilities, fast thinking (or the ability to process information quickly) peaks at around age 20 and then steadily declines after that (see reference). Short-term memory gets better by age 25, and it begins to decline after 35 (see reference). Crystallized intelligence (or accumulated knowledge) peaks at a later stage in life, after age 60 (see reference).

Our mental abilities are directly linked to certain hormones in our bodies. The cognitive function in men is directly connected to testosterone levels, and in women, estrogen levels play a crucial role in cognitive prowess (see reference). One may argue that these facts are only indicative, but they still paint a larger picture of how our abilities are time-bound, not permanent. Unfortunately, most of us sleepwalk throughout our lives due to poor guidance from our parents and society at large.

Teenagers are packed with energy, but remain clueless about the decline they will experience in the coming decades. To understand the energy dynamics, let us evaluate high-action and intense sports like Formula One racing or MotoGP, where machines can go in excess of 230 mph (or 370 kph). The average age of racing drivers and riders is just 25–27 years.

They start their career at a very feeble age of just 4–5 years by participating in junior championships and retire in their early 30s. Their career begins and ends soon. Do you know why? Their mental reflex and sharpness are at their best from their teenage years to mid-20s, and then they decline steadily. Their ability to recover from crashes is also quicker till their 20s.

Additionally, in youngsters, testosterone levels also stay high until 20 years of age, driving impulsive behavior (see reference). Being impulsive means having a tendency to act quickly and without thinking ahead. But when this vital energy is channeled in the right direction, it can create the fastest rider on a racetrack.

Likewise, it is ideal that certain learnings are acquired in early formative years and adulthood. However, most youngsters waste this rich and vital phase of life by offering themselves on a silver platter to be brainwashed by brands, poor role models, and social media influencers. They become a slave to consumerism. No matter what the media tells us, our biology is primed for certain tasks at a certain age range only, like procreation peaking in the mid-20s.

It appears as if nature is the software programmer behind the complex codes of our biological microchip called the DNA. We are preprogrammed and predisposed to function at different degrees of stamina and strength at different ages. Our life, from birth to death, has a graph of rise and fall, to perform certain tasks for a limited period, and life passes on from one generation to another. The cycle of life and death.

Nature ensures that a single person doesn’t live and dominate forever. Like the Olympic Torch that continuously changes hands, life energy is given to humans and then it is taken away slowly, so next generations can come and leave as well.

There is no escape from this code. It is not up to our wishful thinking. The overall energy levels will rise and fall at predetermined phases. Failure to understand this nature’s programming results in so much role confusion, mental breakdowns, and relationship troubles, as we continue to brainwash ourselves against our own biology. The exceptions don’t count.

Most of our life energy is concentrated in the first 25 years, and then it slowly spreads across rest of our lives. No wonder men have the highest sperm quality during 25–29 years (see reference), and fertility in women peaks at around 25 years of age (see reference), and then the slow decline begins. Is this just a coincidence that men and women have similar peak performance matrices in life, around a similar age range? At the other end, wisdom comes much later in life when the hormones cool off and our animalistic instincts take a backseat.

Interestingly, ancient India had a functioning Asrama (stage) system wherein an individual’s life was divided into four stages:

1. Stage 1: Brahmacharya (birth to age 25) — This was the phase of learning.
2. Stage 2: Grihastha (25 to 50 years) — This was the phase to get married, raise a family and maintain a household
3. Stage 3: Vanaprastha (50–75 years) -This was the retirement phase, when responsibilities were passed onto the next generation and withdrawal from worldly affairs
4. Stage 4: Sannyasa (75 years and beyond) — Renunciation of material life and walking the path of spiritualism and enlightenment

Without getting into the technicalities, if you focus on these four stages, you’ll notice that the phase for marriage and raising a family aligns with the phase when fertility is at its peak for both sexes, ideal for bringing healthy children into this world. And, this understanding existed at a time when there was no modern science.

Now there are two ways to look at our elders who lived in another millennium. Either they were delusional and blindly superstitious to believe in random things, or they had a higher degree of wisdom (at least in some areas) than we do today, and they knew how to align one’s life with nature. If the latter is true, then we should shape our decisions around our body’s natural biological clock (based on its strengths and weaknesses). Otherwise, it will be like taking a kitchen knife to a gunfight and hoping to have an advantage.

So, what’s the point?

The purpose of this blog is not to establish the right age for marriage or starting a family. The goal is to bring awareness, especially to the youth, on how nature works when it comes to one’s own biology. Importantly, the pros and cons of ignoring aging.

An empire does not rise from the ground overnight; the foundation is laid many years or even generations before. Likewise, the least a society can do is make youngsters comprehend the importance of sowing the seed of their own future at an early age. Once they become aware, let them be responsible for their own life thereafter.

Without a sailor possessing the necessary navigation skills, a sailboat is only as good as where the collective wind takes it, in whichever direction it blows. Similarly, without mental clarity, the youth will go wherever society tells them to go.

Youngsters should be saved from being directionless, especially during their blooming years filled with abundant life forces. Freedom comes from awareness, and ignorance leads to imprisonment of the soul. To be truly free, one should be capable of directing one’s life in the right direction.

‘Mike Tyson’ became a ‘Mike Tyson’ because his boxing talent was recognized at just 12 years of age by a former boxer, Bob Stewart. He would not have become a world champion had he not started his career early and received proper direction from an experienced coach. Similarly, the youth of today need role models who can either directly or indirectly inspire them for tomorrow, before they cross over their prime years.

However, one must question whether we even have enough people worthy of being role models to the youth, who understand the dynamics of human biology, the ever-changing nature of society, and how to navigate it? As technology advances exponentially, what would have been relevant just 10 years ago will not be of much value today. If the youth aren’t prepared for what’s coming in the next few years, they will be completely lost in the next decade.

Of course, it is a different story if the youth wants to stay unemployed, live off the government handouts, or family inheritance. For others, future planning should begin at a young age when the body and mind are still fresh.

Age is unidirectional; there is no returning to today from tomorrow or the day after. There is no retake in real life. It is not going to wait for anybody. By the time we hit middle age, we are expected to take up leadership positions and become a role model for young workhorses. And, that’s only possible when we have acquired skills and some wisdom in our 20s and 30s.

For those who have missed the bus of maximizing their potential in youth, and were raised in ignorance, it is still never too late to make a difference; if not in one’s own life, at least make a positive impact on the next generation.

We should make the most of our aging process by aligning ourselves with nature. The youth is a precious part of aging, and this phase provides the best time to learn skills, accumulate knowledge, and prepare the groundwork for the next phase of life. Age is not just a number. Aging is like a tidal wave that will keep getting bigger with lots of future promises, but it will knock you down really hard if you do not learn how to ride it out like a pro surfer.

Thanks for your time. If you have any feedback or a point to make, then do leave a comment.