Introduction
On Élan Vital, Aporia, & Feeling Stuck
Psychological Entropy
On Élan Vital
Have the Discipline for Transformation
Interest as Purpose Reinvented
Advantage, Capacity
Reinvention: It’s Not What You Think
Conclusion & Key Takeaways

Introduction

We hear it all the time: When we get to a certain age, the central insight is always the same: “stay active.” That advice is like a cup of plain Greek yogurt: it might be good for you, but seeing it is neither exciting nor invigorating. The advice may be good, but it’s too bland. What it lacks is a touch of élan vital—life’s vital force; life’s creative impulse—the experiential opposite of entropy. Entropy, here, should not be viewed in the strict, rigid sense of physical degradation and decay. Instead, viewed psychologically, entropy appears as resignation, as a narrowing of possibility, and as the gradual acceptance of a smaller life.

Entropy is what happens when possibility contracts, and élan vital is what happens when possibility expands.

Here’s what I propose: Entropy happens when possibility contracts, and élan vital is what happens when possibility expands. What does that mean for those of us advancing in age? It means that the challenge for anyone nearing the end zone is not aging itself. The central challenge is embracing an identity that conflates chronology with destiny. As such, aporia should be viewed as the beginning, a new beginning, not as the end of any one thing.

On Élan Vital, Aporia, & Feeling Stuck

Speaking in the classical sense, aporia is a state of perplexity; a moment when old certainties collapse. But that does not apply here, for our purpose. We should, instead, look at aporia as an impasse; something that temporarily stops us in our tracks because of its inherent puzzlement. It happens often, at that midpoint of our lives. We wake one morning to discover that our chosen career path no longer defines us. Some of us are “empty nesters” whose children are no longer children and no longer depend on us as much or at all.

In many cases, it’s a feeling of completed achievement or, worse, the abandonment of once-energizing ambitions. And perhaps most insidious of all, the fluidity of routines that once brought familiarity has congealed, becoming our identity. Many of us wake up one morning only to proclaim, “I feel stuck.” Here’s a thought… What if what you interpret as “being stuck” may actually be an invitation? What if the impasse is a threshold and not a barrier? What if instead of feeling stuck and asking “What should I do now?” we ask different questions: “Who might I still become?” “What more can I accomplish?” This reframing rewires the brain and causes a mindset shift by disrupting the entropy spiral. Let’s examine it more closely.

Psychological Entropy

Psychological entropy follows a fairly recognizable sequence. First, curiosity disappears, then routine takes hold and begins to dominate. Thereafter, your identity gets stuck in place. This is aporia, a psychologically dangerous impasse. In response, risk avoidance increases, and the thought of anything new—activity, disciplines, sport, etc.—becomes threatening. It’s usually at this point that we will typically experience a vocalization of entropy with sentiments like, “I’m too old for that.” The problem, however, is that the focus is identity-based; it’s not on actual age or on getting older. Entropy has taken hold because that statement, when translated, is really saying: “How can I possibly reinvent myself? I no longer believe I can become someone different.” How do we then respond to this impasse? With élan vital. More specifically, with élan vital as a creative becoming.

On Élan Vital

Élan vital, as described by Bergson, is the creative force that drives evolution toward continual novelty, not toward perfection. This is life’s vital force. Psychologically, the idea is defined as the willingness to surpass and become more than yesterday’s self. It’s an outlook that sees life become less about preservation and more about (re)generation. What it’s not is a striving to become younger (let’s be realistic) or wealthier, just more alive. It means developing new interests, finding things that excite you; maybe something you’ve always wanted to do or try, like writing a book, learning a new language, learning how to bake, completing a 5K, or going kiteboarding. Here’s the kicker: it all starts with interest and fascination. It takes facility, brilliance, verve, and the determination to take that interest to its maximum, logical conclusion.

Remember, you have already lived a life of purpose; that’s no longer the goal. This is about radical transformation, and transformation hardly ever begins with purpose being the starting point. It all starts with interest, which, in and of itself, is unimportant. (NOTE: While the interest is unimportant, it’s always wise to be reasonable. Your interest should always align with reality; e.g., trying to make it to the NBA at 48 years old with no basketball experience is unrealistic. Being 48 years old and playing pickup ball with the guys on weekends is certainly doable.) Still, the interest itself is unimportant. What actually matters is that it awakens attention, because attention is the first indicator that entropy has been interrupted.

Have the Discipline for Transformation

Along with facility, brilliance, and verve, discipline also helps you make that transformation. Discipline is visible and holds you accountable. Interest, mentioned above, is fragile and may wax and wane. Without discipline, interest may fade, becoming nothing more than another abandoned hobby, much like the aforementioned abandonment of ambitions. Discipline curtails that possibility through sustained attention. It holds you in place, ensuring that you return tomorrow. Before long, discipline transforms identity, taking you from intention to execution because identity isn’t reliant on inspiration. Identity follows repeated action.

The progression looks like this: Interest, discipline, facility, brilliance, and verve, with each stage representing a qualitative transformation. Let’s make it even clearer: Interest drives curiosity, and curiosity interrupts entropy. Your curiosity leads to repetition, which comes from discipline and converts fascination into skill. Skill grows into competence, and competence results in confidence. By this point, the activity supplies energy instead of consuming it. The transformation is already underway, taking you beyond imitation as originality emerges. Your new identity is noticeable; your new activity becomes expressive rather than performative. This, of course, energizes you and those within your orbit. Verve is perhaps the modern psychological equivalent of élan vital. A simple way to think of this progression is as a kind of ladder of becoming, but we’re not done. Not yet.

Interest as Purpose Reinvented

I mentioned earlier having the determination to take that interest, whatever it is, to its maximum logical conclusion. Most people stop at competence, preventing themselves from reaching the maximum logical conclusion. I demand of you something much more radical: Imagine every genuine interest as having a natural endpoint. How would that look? If, for example, you are fascinated with wine, you may one day become a sommelier. Photography may lead to a gallery exhibition. An interest in cinematography may get your film shortlisted. A writer may get published and so on. This is not because these outcomes are commercially viable; some may be, while others may not. It’s because the interest deserves completion. The fullest expression of an interest gets transformed into contribution, and contribution is purpose reinvented.

Advantage, Capacity

Unfortunately, we live in a time when 40 is deemed “old,” with society assuming that life peaks around 35. But you know what comes with time? Capacity, and many capacities often improve with age: Judgment, balance, wisdom, knowledge, patience, taste, and discernment. Society assumes life peaks at 35, but I’m here to challenge the myth of decline, and I implore you to do the same. If you’ve already made it to 40+ years, you have capacities, some that you may now even be aware of. You also have, or should have, the ability to access your capacities on demand. Anything that declines physically may be compensated for by greater depth. Look at it this way: Perhaps entropy isn’t a degradation or aging; perhaps entropy is merely a ceasing to become.

Reinvention: It’s Not What You Think

Well, you’ve gotten the steak; here are the potatoes. Reinvention isn’t necessarily about changing careers; heck, you might have already retired. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, reinvention is not about going out, buying a new motorcycle or a new Corvette, or cosmetic youthfulness. None of these things even constitute a transformation. So, what then is reinvention? I think it’s allowing yourself to become a beginner again. Nature dictates that children access élan vital naturally, but as you start getting closer to the end zone, you often have to recover it deliberately. How might that look? Interest, when combined with daily practice, leads to facility, which in turn leads to mastery. Mastery leads to contribution, giving rise to vitality. In other words, entropy narrows the gap; élan vital expands it. That is all.

Conclusion & Key Takeaways

We are all born unfinished, but age doesn’t make us complete. In fact, age merely presents a series of opportunities to continue becoming. The tragedy of later life is not a nest of wrinkles on the brow or around the eyes. It’s not slowing reflexes, creaky joints, or greying hair. It’s the moment we mistake the accumulation of years for the exhaustion of possibility. Guilt is the uncomfortable certainty that we are not what we could have been, and there’s a particular brand of guilt linked to looking back on our lives, regretful for not having done more.

The antidote to this particular brand of guilt is never merely to “stay active”; it’s élan vital. The antidote to entropy is not youth; it’s élan vital. It’s the decision to cultivate one genuine interest so faithfully that it evolves into discipline, discipline into mastery, mastery into contribution, and contribution into a way of inhabiting the world with unequivocal verve. That’s the “reinvention” formula: transforming élan vital into the inverse of entropy. Because when it’s all said and done, the question is never whether or not you or I are too old. No. The only meaningful question is whether we have stopped becoming.