On Sunday afternoon my brother and I went indoor go-karting. There were five of us on the track. The both of us and a father (mid-40s) with his teenage sons.
Craig and I unconsciously picked out the teenagers as our main rivals, not because they were young and had higher reflexes (which the racing clearly showed was untrue), but because we saw ourselves as teenagers too.
Isn’t it interesting how we project ourselves into a certain space when the factual information suggests otherwise. At 31 and 32 we have twice the life experience of the teenagers we were racing and 2/3 that of their father. On the day we saw ourselves as the same.
I often fail to remember I’m an adult. Especially when I’m in situations or with friends that I grew up with. Yesterday I had lunch with friends I’ve known since primary school yet with 3 children running around the house we were still kids ourselves.