News and Stories from Take Shape

Let me just say it straight: getting old is not easy for me. There, I said it. It’s not the final statement of life, it’s not definitive or exclusive to all else, nor should it be taken as the entire value of my worth. But for anyone who has hit their mid 40s and maybe creeping into their late 50’s, there is research to support the fact that we decline faster around 44 and 60.

or most of my life, I moved fast. Productivity was my superpower, and I wore busyness like a badge of honour. My days were packed with work, training, studying, and adventuring. No matter what I was doing, I was constantly chasing the next goal, the next task, the next challenge. It felt good, like I was achieving something, but in hindsight, I can see the pattern I was trapped in.

I wasn’t making conscious choices. I was running on autopilot. I pushed myself hard, often to the point of burnout, making decisions out of habit rather than intention. I was great at getting things done, but not always great at making the choices that truly served me.

From the moment we enter the world, we’re taught to colour inside the lines. Follow the rules, stick to the path, don’t stray too far. Society gives us a framework to live within, always encouraging us to go to school, get a job, be productive, and generally stay in line. And while there are benefits to this system, it can also limit us.

We are expected to grow in controlled ways, much like a bonsai tree is pruned, shaped, and maintained for aesthetic perfection. But at what cost? What if the endless trimming of our wild edges is holding us back?

When we hear the word adventure, we often picture epic journeys involving summiting mountains, hacking through jungles, or diving into the unknown. We associate adventure with intrepid explorers and Hollywood heroes, risking it all in pursuit of something greater. But adventure isn’t just about the big, dramatic moments that may or may not feature a Hemsworth brother. Life itself is an adventure.

From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, we are measuring ourselves. Steps taken, calories burned, hours slept, heart rate, productivity levels, all things made possible by recent technology. But is it worth it? Somewhere along the way, our worth became tied to how many tasks we could tick off our to-do lists, how efficiently we could optimise ourselves, and how much closer we got to some arbitrary milestone.

And sure, structure has its benefits. It keeps society functioning, helps us set goals, and ensures that we move forward. But what happens when the structure starts controlling us rather than supporting us?