The Privilege of Movement: Borrowing Perspective From Your Future Self

Thought For The Week

Twice last week, while I was out running, older men called out to me as I passed them.

There was something genuinely wistful about what they both said.

It was some version of: “I wish my legs could still do that.”

And each time, I felt the weight of what they meant.

Because we spend so much time treating movement as an obligation that we forget it’s also a temporary privilege.

We criticise our bodies for how they look, resent them for feeling tired, pressure them to perform better, move faster, recover quicker, and look different.

But one of the subtle things about ageing is that it steadily changes your perspective on what matters.

Most people don’t dream of six-packs at 80. They dream of mobility, independence, freedom, and dignity.

And maybe that’s worth remembering while our bodies can still give those things to us.

Exercise Focus

When we were young, we ran, climbed, jumped, swam, danced, and played simply because it felt natural and enjoyable.

Then somewhere along the way, that instinct got lost, and movement became more about aesthetics, performance, achievement, and pushing limits. Exercise turned into a tool to change our bodies, improve ourselves, or prove something to ourselves and other people.

Fast forward a few more years, and the goal shifts again. Eventually, movement becomes a means of preserving freedom, capability, and independence. To be able to walk without pain, to carry your shopping, and get up off the floor easily. To keep participating, exploring, and saying yes to things.

That perspective matters. Because it changes the emotional relationship we have with exercise itself.

Movement becomes less about pushing, and more about preserving the ordinary things that make life feel meaningful.

Perhaps one of the more difficult realities of ageing is that we often don’t fully appreciate our physical capabilities until we start to lose them.

From time to time then, I think it’s worth borrowing perspective from your future self.

Because the body you criticise today may well become the body you look back on with enormous appreciation, gratitude, and even a certain fondness in the years to come.

Nutrition Focus

At its best, food is far more than just nutrients or physical health. It’s also celebration, culture, comfort, memory, spontaneity, and connection. Some of the most meaningful moments in our lives happen around food: birthday cakes, family meals, holidays, coffees with friends, dinners that last long into the evening.

But it’s easy to lose sight of that.

We’ve become so focused on trying to eat well, improve ourselves, and optimise our health that food can feel more like a complicated calculation than a part of real life.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s important to pay attention to and care about nutrition. But I do think there’s a strange irony in trying so hard to live well that we accidentally stop experiencing some of the ordinary moments that make life feel full in the first place.

Because most of us probably won’t look back on our lives wishing we’d eaten more perfectly. But we may wish we’d worried a little less, shared a few more meals, enjoyed the holiday dessert, accepted the birthday cake, and stayed a little longer at the table.

Links & Resources

Book: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande is a deeply thoughtful book about ageing, mortality, independence, and what really matters as our bodies change.

Book: For something a bit lighter, try Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. It’s a reflective read about the brevity of life, the limits of optimisation, and why constantly trying to master life often stops us from fully experiencing it.

Recipe: Sometimes the most meaningful moments happen around the things we share, celebrate, and enjoy with others. For something really special, Delia’s Ultimate Carrot Cake is one of my favourite bakes.

Inspirational Quote

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.”

Robert Brault