Good advice at any age

Now that the Olympics is almost here, I've been seeing quite a few articles pop up in the media focusing on the larger percentage of "older" athletes competing this year.. those in their 40's and above (and even some in their 60's). For example, the Beijing Olympics-themed blog of the NYTimes posted a nice (and short) blog entry on the subject:

The Starting Line: At the Olympics, Age Is Just a Number
By Jeff Z. Klein
July 14, 2008, 2:22 pm

One quote that stuck out for me came from Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic; he explained why so many older athletes are doing so well at the Olympic level:

The message that these people tell us, whether it's Gordie Howe, George Foreman, Dara Torres or any of these people, is that if people become obsessed with what they can't do as they age, well then they won't do it. These individuals are more interested with what they can do.

Of course, the Olympics, in many respects is still a "young person's game" and these 40+ athletes mentioned in the article make up a small percentage of the overall field, but, still, the take-away from this article is clear.. focusing more on what you can do (versus what you *think* you can't, physically or otherwise) is pretty good advice at any age..