When the train of life speeds up: We can choose not to get off.

The convenience of life sometimes makes me feel dazed.

Last year when I went home, I drove my father to the bank to pay the water, electricity and gas bills. Later, I found that these operations which could be completed in a few minutes on the mobile phone were an insurmountable gap for him.

Even now, at over eighty years old, he still insists on using cash and goes to the bank on time every month to queue up to receive his pension.

The WeChat group of his workplace is a silent existence to him, and he doesn't know how to reply to his friends' blessing messages.

Nowadays, browsing short videos on the mobile phone has become his greatest pastime, replacing the former unshakable TV time. 

My aunt is over ninety years old. We have taught her how to make and receive phone calls many times, but she just can't get the hang of it.

Her helpless look makes us laugh, but behind the laughter lies a hint of bitterness. 

In sharp contrast to this is Mr. Huang, a teacher I have known for many years.

He is in his nineties and was proficient in Russian in his early years, and later taught himself English.

We have been in regular email contact for a long time, and he often forwards valuable business information to me.

Surprisingly, he can still communicate in simple English during video conferences. "Learning is like eating. If you don't do it for a day, you feel hungry," he says.

These two scenes kept alternating in my mind until I saw a statement made by the renowned host Lu Yu in a video:

"The ship has already passed... I can follow it to the extent that I can. One day, if I can't catch this train, I'll arrive at the station."

Suddenly, I realized that each of us is riding on a constantly accelerating life train.

  • The difference is that some choose to close their eyes and relive the past;
  • while others always look out of the window, embracing every new scenery.

This determines whether we reach the same destination or have completely different life experiences.


The "Digital Outcasts" and "Lifelong Passengers" in the Technological Tide

My father is not an isolated case. 

Data shows that among the Chinese population aged 60 and above, nearly 65% have never used mobile payment, and 40% have never accessed the internet.

They have become what is called "digital outcasts" - not abandoned by the times, but choosing to let go of the hand of the times that they had grasped.

In contrast, there are those who are lifelong passengers.

Successful businesswoman Li Yifei said, "There is no such word as 'retirement' in my dictionary." 

which reminded me of the story of Paul Karanish - this 37-year-old neurosurgeon, after being diagnosed with advanced cancer, instead embarked on a writing career and eventually left behind the life masterpiece "When Breath Becomes Air".

What truly confines us is not time, but the way we view time.
The research of psychology professor Carol Dweck reveals the key: People with a "growth mindset" can master new skills even at the age of eighty.

This is not a piece of spiritual advice, but a cognitive reformation supported by science.


The true meaning of "keeping up": Not chasing, but connecting

During the pandemic, a scene deeply touched me: An elderly person was refused boarding the bus because he didn't have a health code.

He said helplessly, "I don't have a phone, but I really need to get some medicine."

This incident made me rethink the meaning of "keeping up".

It's not about becoming a technical expert, but about maintaining a connection with the world.

  • Mobile payment is not just a payment method; it is part of the social network.
  • Email is not just a communication tool; it is a channel for the exchange of ideas.

Maintaining social engagement is key: always maintaining an open attitude towards new people and new viewpoints is crucial.

 

Old age is not the end of learning; rather, it is a new beginning.

The renowned experiment conducted by Harvard professor Alan Lang is thought-provoking:

A group of elderly people were placed in an environment that replicated the layout of 1959.

Just one week later, their vision, memory, and even joint flexibility all showed significant improvements.

The experiment proves that when we break the psychological stereotype that "elders should be like this", both the body and mind will glow with the radiance of youth.

My father often said, "At my age, I can't learn this stuff anymore?" But Teacher Huang's reply was, "I don't feel that this age means I can't learn anything?" 

This reminded me of the words of the writer and composer  Mr Mu Xin: "Time does not spare anyone; neither has I spared time."

While in prison, he drew piano keys on white paper and "played" Mozart silently; in his later years, he still persisted in writing and painting every day.

Learning is not the exclusive domain of young people; rather, it is the very breath of life itself.

 

Staying Ahead in the E-commerce Era: Everyone Can Be a Participant


This is especially important if you are an e-commerce professional or are running an independent website.

Because consumers are getting older, but their consumption concepts have not stagnated.

Data shows that people over 50 are one of the fastest-growing groups in online consumption, but they need different communication methods.

I can't help but recall the prediction in textbooks thirty years ago: In the future, people can purchase what they need without leaving their homes. At that time, we regarded it as a fairy tale, but now we have become accustomed to it.

Deliverymen are seen everywhere on every street and alley. The train of the era has really arrived before our eyes.

 

 Build "future resilience" for oneself


When facing my father, I often ask myself: What will I be like 30 years from now?

I think I will be the one who refuses to get off the bus easily.

  • Continuously keep up with technological trends, even if it's just understanding the basic logic of blockchain.
  • Actively make friends who are twenty years younger than me, listen to what they care about and what they use.
  • Try to venture into new fields, such as video editing or creating a podcast. 

All of this is not about becoming an expert, but about maintaining the flexibility of thinking – just as

  • muscles need exercise to become supple,
  • the brain also requires continuous new stimuli to avoid becoming rigid.

 

Build "future resilience" for oneself


When arriving at the terminal station, with a full load of luggage

Lu Yu said, "One day I won't be able to take this train anymore, and then I'll have reached the station."

What I would like to add is: We can choose how to reach that station.

Is it with a full load of luggage - filled with memories of different eras, attempts at various skills, and conversations with people of different ages?

Or are we empty-handed, only with vague memories of "the good old days"?

My father may never use mobile payment. That's okay. The fact that he can sense the pulse of society through short videos is already a form of connection.

What matters is not mastering all the tools, but always maintaining the willingness to try.

Teacher Huang recently started learning to use Zoom. He said, "Every time I learn a new thing, it feels like my life has been extended a little bit."

This might be the best answer - the length of life may not be controllable, but its width and depth are always in our own hands.

 

Final words: Where is your train going?


At this moment, whether you are 20, 40, or 60 years old, this train is speeding up.

You can complain about it being too fast, you can miss the slower times of the past, or you can - reach out and grasp the handrail by the window, let the wind blow across your face, and see what scenery is unfolding ahead.

Because the most precious part of this journey is not the final platform we arrive at, but how we choose to view, experience, and share the light outside the window with the people in the train along the way.

Those who always look forward, there is always light in their eyes.

 

 

----Extended Reading and Resources

(If you want to delve deeper into certain concepts mentioned in the text, the following are books that I personally read and found beneficial, for your reference.)

 

 

 For more resource information, please refer to my "My Toolkit & Resources."

 

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