Am I thinking like a 25 year old?

As an older man I often say that I think just as clearly as a 25 year old, yet, my thoughts are much more organized, richer and filled with greater experience than when I was 25. My mind was a dysfunctional mess then. What’s been happening in the following 50 years is an accumulation of mental clarity shaped by experience. 

At 25, my brain seemed quick and gave me a distinct picture of what it wanted me to see, but it was often filled with distraction, ego, incoherence, contradiction, hesitation and anxiety about “figuring things out.” With age, came hard-knocks, failures, criticisms, that led me to become less reactive in my thinking, better at spotting patterns, and prioritizing. 

After living through decades of trial, error, reflection, and refinement this is what opened the way to more structured thoughts. What might have felt like chaos in youth has been tamed by perspective and practice—like a messy garage that slowly becomes a well-labeled workshop or a plate of messed up jambalaya against some pristine looking nigiri sushi.

That‘ s wisdom taking hold, not just intelligence. Of course, this gain is gradual and may happen in 4, 5 decades or even more depending on the individual. Over that time span, if we pay attention, we can accumulate a mental library made of stories, insights, and emotional nuances that will enrich our thinking. 

Our creativity isn’t left behind either, with more depth, irony, and empathy replacing the frenetic mental hurricanes of our youth. We’re not just comparing mental horsepower, but we’re distinguishing between raw processing and cultivated wisdom. That’s a milestone worth celebrating!