"Old age is ready to undertake tasks that youth shirked because they would take too long"

W. Somerset Maugham’s observation draws a compelling contrast between youth and old age, illuminating how the passage of time changes not just our priorities, but our perception of time itself. When we are young, life appears open-ended. Years seem abundant, and the lure of quick gratification or immediate payoff often outweighs any inclination to commit to endeavors with long, uncertain outcomes. Youth is sometimes associated with impatience, a desire for rapid advancement, and a reluctance to invest in projects whose fruits may be reaped far in the future.

As people mature and reach old age, perspectives shift. With experience, one becomes increasingly aware that lasting, meaningful achievements seldom arise from haste or avoidance. The understanding develops that the most rewarding tasks often require patience, sustained effort, and a tolerance for delayed results. The irony is that the tasks youth tend to avoid, because they “would take too long”, are precisely the ones that old age is now prepared, even eager, to embrace. The sense of temporality, rather than breeding despair, can fuel a kind of serene commitment. No longer daunted by the length of a task, older individuals may feel a freedom to start what once seemed interminable, without fear of missing out on something else.

Old age, too, is accompanied by a keener appreciation of intrinsic motivation; satisfaction arises from the act of doing rather than solely from completion. There may be a desire to leave a legacy, an urge to plant seeds for trees one may not personally sit under. Wisdom teaches that the journey itself, the challenge of the long, resisted task, has purpose, apart from its conclusion. Thus, with maturity, individuals may find themselves more willing to invest precious time in undertakings they would once have shunned, realizing that fulfillment is found not always in speed, but in depth, continuity, and perseverance.