Age and Experience

A former colleague made a comment a few months ago that brought to mind this joke: An old dog got lost in the African wilds. As he searched for his way home, he spied a young lion creeping up on him. Knowing he was no match for the lion, the dog thought furiously, spied some bones on the ground, and got an idea. The dog nonchalantly turned his back on the lion and began munching vigorously on the bones. At the moment the lion was poised to pounce, the old dog licked his chops and loudly proclaimed, ‘That was the best lion I ever ate.”

The young lion decided this dog was more ferocious than he looked, so he slunk away. A young monkey sitting in the trees observed this performance and decided that he could make a pact with the lion – in exchange for protection the monkey would tell the lion how the dog had tricked him. The monkey sprinted after the lion, asked for a pact, and explained the situation. The lion, totally incensed, told the monkey, “Jump on my back and I’ll show you what happens to animals that make a fool of me.”

The old dog saw the lion with the monkey on his back racing towards him at high speed. Guessing what had happened, the dog immediately turned his back on the charging lion and looked unconcernedly into the distance. As soon as the lion got within earshot, the dog announced loudly, “Where is that dratted monkey? I sent him out an hour ago to bring me another lion.”

The moral of the story? Age and experience (or should we perhaps say ‘age and treachery’) will win out over youth and enthusiasm any time.

I don’t consider myself particularly treacherous (notice I mention nothing about age…) but I do know that as I rack up the years, I have learned from experience how to circumvent idiots, silly rules, and for the most part get my own way as far as it is possible to do so. The comment that my former colleague, a young woman, had made was something to the effect that she had learned a lot of necessary work skills from me through observation, such as how to say ‘no’ politely but firmly and how not to get trampled underfoot in the office whirlwinds.

At first I was horrified by this comment, but upon reflection, I was pleased. My motto for the past few years has been ‘it is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission’. Asking permission gives away my personal power and it boxes me into a corner if I don’t get the answer I want. Just forging ahead, making decisions on my own, and doing as I see fit always provides more satisfaction, and nine times out of ten, no one notices or cares, or if they do, they appreciate the fact that someone can think and act without constant supervision. Unlike asking permission, which hands power to someone else who usually doesn’t deserve that power, acting on my own initiative allows me to retain the power of choice and of decision making.

Age has given me the confidence to trust my own instincts and to act according to my own lights, not someone else’s. For that I must say I am grateful for the aging process. I also suspect this is one reason why age discrimination has become the biggest discriminatory factor in the U.S. Gender and race come in a distant second to age discrimination.

Youngsters might bring a lot of enthusiasm to a job, but they seldom bring much experience with them. We older people, on the other hand, have gained a lot of experience through the years and we have learned a few things on our several trips around the block. We no longer need wild enthusiasm to get the job done correctly. When someone tells us to jump, we explain respectfully that we will certainly see it gets put on the agenda and in all likelihood we can probably oblige by sometime next week. We don’t feel the need or the desire to jump immediately. We test the waters first.

Experience truly is a very valuable asset, and we can only gain this experience through time, trial, and error. We know how to work, we know how to get the job done, but we also require a little respect. Youngsters work very hard when they decide to work, but they often lack the required experience to properly complete a job on their own. Older people work hard as well, but through experience we have learned how to work smarter, not harder.