“While today’s wunderkind culture favors early bloomers and seems to create needless barriers for late bloomers, in fact, we late bloomers have our own amazing strengths that lead to success and fulfillment. And these qualities — curiosity, compassion, resilience, equanimity, insight, and wisdom — are conferred only with time.”
— Rich Karlgaard, Late Bloomers: The Hidden Strengths of Learning and Succeeding at Your Own Pace (my affiliate link)
I’ve always been a late bloomer. It’s not my imagination or an exaggeration. I definitely progressed on a slower and more deliberate timeline than most others.
- I was small for my age and didn’t physically mature until my 20s.
- I didn’t have a serious romantic relationship until I was 18 and out of high school.
- I screwed up my first year of college, dropped out, came back, and graduated much later than my peers.
- When I applied to graduate school at 25 years old, I was considered so “old” that my advisor recommended I address the issue head-on in my application letters.
- I was over 30 when I started my first solo business, and I was in my late 40s when I founded my first tech startup.
- I didn’t start seriously working out and lifting weights until I was in my 40s.
- It feels like I’ve only truly started feeling calm and confident now in my 50s.
Yeah, no one would ever describe me as an “early bloomer.” 🤣
Do you think of yourself as a late bloomer too? Have you ever felt like you were one step behind your peers in physical…
