Phil Mickelson and Aging Mentality

What a year it’s been for older athletes! The long-accepted stereotypes around the physical and mental limitations of age in sport have been smashed by an astonishing number of competitors in a wide variety of endeavors. Of course, this has been happening for years, but big names in mainstream sports have captured the media’s attention and provided empirical proof of the role lifestyle, conditioning, and mindset play in extending physical performance. The sheer number of older athletes suggests this is not a case of “lucky genes” in a few isolated individuals. There is a pattern to their longevity, and we have role models now to emulate! A few examples come to mind: Tom Brady, with his first season in Tampa culminating in a Superbowl win, turns 44 in August. Tom hasn’t missed a game due to injury since 2008. There is talk of his playing until he’s fifty! Tom’s career and training have been well documented over the years, but his longevity has often been seen as an anomaly, attributable to some unique physiological composition not available to others. Washington, DC hockey fans will remember Jaromir Jágr, who played for the NHL until age 45, and who continues to play for his hometown team in the Czech Republic, where he posted 22 points between the regular season and the playoffs, at age 49! In the tennis world, Serena Williams (39), Rafael Nadal (35), Roger Federer (39), and Novak Djokovic (34) exemplify career extensions previously unheard of. Djokovic, currently ranked number one, just completed a stunning victory over a much younger Stefanos Tsitsipas (22). His comeback win from two sets down occurred less than 48 hours after completing a grueling four-hour semifinal against Nadal. Almost nine hours of tennis over just two days! This week, all eyes are on Phil Mickelson, who is competing this weekend in the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California. In May, Phil won the PGA Championship just before his 51st birthday, astounding the golf world with his comeback from a career sunset and becoming the oldest major championship winner in history. But get this, while Phil is older than the other players, the ages of the top finishers are up there: Louis Oosthuizen is 38, Padraig Harrington is 49, Paul Casey is 43, Justin Rose is 40, Kevin Streelman is 42, and Stewart Cink, who finished 30th, is 48. I could go on. There are many others in swimming, baseball, track and field, gymnastics. Professionals and amateurs. The era of older athletes is upon us. So how do they do it? What’s the secret? For Mickelson, it was a shift in mindset and a return to basics. As he explained:“I wasn’t educated. I either wasn’t aware or didn’t want to know the things I was putting in my body, whether it was diet soda and how toxic that is, or whether it was the amount of sugar, and how much inflammation it causes, or whether it was the quantity; all of those things, I just kind of shut my eyes to.” Okay, diet is essential. Check. Mickelson goes on: “If I work a little harder, spend a little more time in the gym, eat well, practice hard, there's no reason why I can't put it all out there for 18 holes." Exercise and training. Yep. Now, here’s where it gets interesting…"This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible, but yet everything was saying it wasn't. I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work, a little bit harder effort to maintain physically or maintain the skills, but gosh, is it worth it in the end, and I'm so appreciative to be holding this Wanamaker Trophy." Enter mindset. Self-talk. Expectations of ability, vitality, frailty…Echoes of Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile… In reflecting on his win at the French Open last weekend, Djokovic described a talk he had with himself after his crushing loss in the first two sets.  During a break between play, Djokovic came to terms with the competing voices in his head. “There’s always two voices inside: There is one telling you that you can’t do it, that it’s done, it’s finished. That voice was pretty strong after that second set,” Djokovic said. “So I felt that that was a time for me to actually vocalize the other voice and try to suppress the first one that was saying I can’t make it. I told myself I can do it. Encouraged myself. I strongly started to repeat that inside of my mind, tried to live it with my entire being.” The result? He won the following three sets, the match, the tournament. So, what does this mean for us, the mortal over-fifties with jobs and families and without the benefit of coaches and nutritionists at our disposal? How do we convert this into everyday practical stuff? We start by having a chat with ourselves to decide which voice we’re going to listen to:Are we going to listen to the outdated voice of ageist stereotypes that reinforces limitations around getting older?Or are we going to listen to the voice of modern aging, which embraces proven techniques for staying vital and fit well beyond anything imagined just twenty years ago? Every time you invoke your age as a reason for a limitation, imagined or legitimate, in casual conversation or in jest, you reinforce a set of neural pathways that become self-fulfilling. And those words are real. They begin to shape your self-image. Sure, they let you off the hook from certain activities you no longer find appealing, but that's a choice, not an imposition. Of course, injury or illness will enforce limitations on movement and physical activity even with the best mindset. And there are real changes that come with being older. I'm not suggesting you ignore your age and recklessly do stupid things. Embrace your age for its wisdom, and honor it by maintaining your physical, mental, and spiritual wherewithal. We are beneficiaries of the training techniques of elite athletes. The modalities developed in the last twenty-five years are increasingly available to all of us. But unless we let go of self-imposed limitations around getting older and adopt a mindset of possibility, we are destined to decline into infirmity and frailty. Belief and mindset are the first steps. Let’s all cheer for Phil Mickelson this weekend! No matter how he finishes, he’s already ahead in his battle with Father Time.George

Stay Strong. Age Well.

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I'm George Harrop, founder of

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