A friend of mine told me recently that he’d lost about 30 yards off his drive.
He’s turning 80 soon, enjoys golf, and between some medications he’s taking and a few other things going on, his game has changed.
But there was something about the way he mentioned those 30 yards that stayed with me.
Maybe it was because I know him well enough to sense that it wasn’t only about golf.
As we kept talking, he mentioned being concerned about falling and what a setback that could be. He also talked about what he’s already doing. He goes to the gym. He walks. He exercises regularly.
I found myself listening a little differently.
He wasn’t looking for someone to tell him he needed to start taking care of himself. He was already doing that.
What seemed more interesting was whether some of the time and effort he was already putting in could better prepare his body for the things that matter to him now.
So that’s what we talked about.
Not enough to figure everything out. Maybe just enough for both of us to think about it a little differently.
And apparently I did, because I kept thinking about our conversation afterward.
When something changes for an athlete, they adjust. What they work on might change because what their body needs has changed.
We don’t think that’s unusual. It’s simply part of preparing for what they want to do.
Maybe that idea isn’t limited to athletes.
At different times in our lives, all of us ask different things of our bodies. What we want to do changes. What our bodies are capable of changes. And sometimes life itself changes how much time or attention we can give any of it.
When we notice those changes, it’s pretty natural to compare what we can do now with what we remember being able to do before.
Maybe that’s why “back in the day, I used to…” comes so easily.
And we don’t have to be anywhere near 80 to say it.
But maybe what we used to do can tell us something about what we’d still like to do.
That’s when those 30 yards started looking a little different to me.
Something had changed. He noticed it. And our conversation wasn’t really about getting those 30 yards back.
It was about becoming curious about what his body might need now.
Maybe that’s a question worth asking at any age.
Because our bodies are changing throughout our lives. And so are the things we ask them to do.
Which leaves me thinking about a question that started with my friend, but could probably belong to any of us.
What am I preparing my body for now?
Maybe the answer matters less than becoming curious enough to ask.
And then noticing what our body has to say.
About Our Body’s Story: We’re excited to introduce The Body’s Story, a weekly series from Cornerstone Clubs. Through reflective, story-driven posts, we explore how your body responds to movement, rest, stress, and daily habits—and what you can learn when you pause long enough to listen.
