Better late than never. Composition-reasoning according to the proverb “Better late than never

“How to treat the problem of age? My advice - forget about it! When it comes to others or yourself, pay attention to experience, intelligence, imagination, talent, energy, decency, kindness - what really matters in any human being - and completely ignore age. It does not matter, and in any case, it is difficult to comprehend. Worst of all, it leads to costly mistakes that you don't want to make,” writes Barbara Sher in her new book, Better Late Than Never. Here are five rules that will help you avoid mistakes.

Better late than never

Rule #1 Don't think you're too old for something until you're too old.

A gray-haired woman came up to me in a bookstore in Wyoming and said, “What a pity I didn't hear from you years ago. There were things that I wanted to do, but nothing worked. And now it's too late."

I asked: "Are you sick?"

"No, no, but I'm already sixty-three, I really waited too long."

“You know,” I said, “you can live to eighty or ninety. And you will feel like a complete fool when you realize that you considered yourself old at sixty-three! You will definitely not like this feeling. Better get started now."

Her problem is that, like you and me, she was prematurely traumatized by her own birthdays. By the time we're smart enough to realize how young we were at forty, fifty, or sixty, we'll be seventy, eighty, or ninety!

That is why it is so important to pay special attention to what should not be put off. If everything is in order with your health, it's time to start hiking. Don't put it off until seventy. On the one hand, what if your body then can not carry you? On the other hand, by the age of seventy you will be doing other wonderful things that your hands did not reach before, and, in any case, you will be too busy for hiking.

You already notice small physical problems? Great. Write a list of what works and use it. Don't waste time regretting your growing waist or thumb, which behaves unimportantly. Most likely, you are in the right shape for what you need to do during this period of life, just like you were in the right shape as an infant or teenager.

Most importantly, do not forget: if the body allows you to do something, then you are not too old for this.

Rule number 2. Time is clay. Create something out of it.

Remember all the things you always wanted to do but didn't seem able to do, like travel, dance or write? It's time to start. If, like most people in their forties, you are responsible for countless projects and have very little free time, remember: for the work you love to contribute bright colors into your life, it is not necessary to devote everything to him work time. Five minutes a day of writing or singing, dancing or leafing through travel brochures will be like water to a thirsty plant. And those five minutes will incredibly increase the chances of doing something to the fullest. I promise: familiarity with the subject will open up new possibilities.

Rule number 3. If you have A big dream follow her. But don't think it's the last one.

Is there anything significant you would like to do before you get "too old"? Go ahead and do it if you can. But do not fool yourself, thinking that, having completed your plan, you will agree to grow old. One dream will never be enough. In fact, the best reason to take on a lifelong dream is to get it out of the way so you can move on to your next dreams. One day you will see that this dream was only a warm-up.

You are entering the age of big beginnings, and your dreams are just starting to line up.

Rule #4: Beware of premature regrets.

"Of all the sad words written or spoken, the saddest of all is 'It was possible!'" If you are wondering where the years have gone and whether you have wisely disposed of your life, keep in mind: the question is great, but the time is not right for it yet. What have you done in life? My answer: who can know? There is a good chance that your life has not yet begun.

Remember: “What you do today, right now, will be your ticket to happiness. This is not the end at all. This the most important beginning. Over the years, you have moved from animal instincts - blind impulses that overshadowed everything - and have come to awareness, the ability to see and understand what you are looking at.

Think about it. This change is one of the most significant in your life. It is like being blind and now seeing again. But the change affected not only the ability to see the world around. Mindfulness awakened an understanding of who you are, where you are and where you want to go. Your car finally has a driver, and it's you - the real you, the genuine one, not the one you thought you were supposed to be. There is a real road in front of you, here it is, and it is intended for you personally.

Time always gives more than it takes. Time has brought you here, carried away your sorrows, allowed you to blossom. It gave true wealth, made up of accumulated decisions and lessons learned, events, skills, insights, relationships with people. Encounters with life have helped shape and understand what you are made of. Time has regularly deposited into the bank account of your experience. You have become a treasure trove - how Library of Alexandria. And every year the value of treasures is increasing.

Time is your material. All the great things you get to do will be carved out of time. The sailor uses the waves and the wind, time will carry you. And the outlined limit of time is nothing but the pier from which you push off at the beginning of the journey.

Rule #5: Remembering your mortality is good.

Recognition of one's mortality helps to feel currently like nothing else. Have you ever been near a dying person? To see how a person refuses everything superficial and penetrates into the essence of every moment of life is the deepest experience. Suddenly the "here and now" appear like never before. My friend, a journalist accustomed to working sixty to seventy hours a week, found herself facing a long illness and the inevitable death of her father. She took an indefinite leave and settled in his house: “I just wanted to be with him. What is especially possible here is just to play with the cat, bring him tea.

That's the sense of timelessness that many of us have lost, isn't it? But awareness of the finiteness of time, like nothing else, makes us act. Knowing that you will die is the beginning of serious accomplishments.

Based on the book "Better Late Than Never"

// Essay-reasoning on the proverb "Better late than never"

“Better late than never” is an old Russian proverb that contains the wisdom of generations. But in fact, what is better: not to finish the job or finish it, but later? It is this meaning that is embedded in this proverb Because there is no time frame for a good deed.

My dad worked as an electrician. His work was difficult and responsible, often he was called early in the morning, because something could go wrong. Whether it's a lantern in the park or an outlet at a pensioner on the other side of the city. He was an electrician working in house management. He had to get up at dawn, collect tools and go to an unloved job.

Every day, leaving the house, near the door, he sighed heavily. Father never complained, but at such moments it became clear that this work was for the family, and not for the soul. He worked there for five years. Such a period of daddy's patience. But one evening, at a family dinner, dad could no longer keep this lump in himself and said that he would no longer go to this job, it does not bring him joy.

By education, my dad is a military man, he graduated from military department at legal institute. When he began to talk about the army, about discipline, about a beautiful uniform, a smile lit up his face, which was not there when he went to his last job. Thanks to old connections, my father was back in the ranks. That's how my dad changed the field of activity. You can do this at any time, at any age, because better late than never!

I remember how I came to my grandmother on the winter vacation and she talked about her classmate. He was tall, handsome, and he liked his grandmother very much. But she found out about it twenty years later, at a reunion of graduates. And a classmate was silent all the years because of his embarrassment. Who knows how their lives would have turned out, thanks to one revelation? Grandmother was already married, but she, as a woman, was pleased with such attention. There is just nothing to return. Too much time has passed. Act now, in this moment, in this second!

How many times have you thanked your mom for cooking dinner? She tried her best, put her love and care into it. She would love to hear "thank you." How they shine mother's eyes from simple human gratitude, and cheeks are filled with a blush. How nice it is for a person to receive kindness in return! This is the beauty of the human soul.

One day, my mother passed away, and I never had time to say the word “thank you” to her. Therefore, it is better to say late than when there will be no one to speak.

…The first Russian day of record sales discounts, known as "Black Friday", began with the fact that the site blackfriday 2013.ru collapsed at midnight. It was at this time that a million users simultaneously visited the Internet page. Today is the first attempt in Russia to assimilate the American tradition of sales in the virtual sphere. So far, customers are not very happy with it.
The global online sale in Moscow began on December 6 at 00.00 and will last 24 hours. After the site crashed at night, the administration of the Internet resource promised to fix the problem by 8:00 Moscow time (4:00 GMT), but then took a timeout for a few more hours, the BBC Russian service reports. Now the site is working. In order to make a purchase, you need to go to the Black Friday website, select the product you like, then go to the website of the online store, select a convenient form of payment there and purchase the product. Near the products that are participating in the sale, there is a banner informing that the product is participating in the Black Friday program. However, many items are no longer available, they are sold out.
As far as discounts go, things aren't going well either. “Discount on goods, including not only clothes, accessories, toys, cosmetics, but also household and sports goods, Appliances and electronics will make up to 90%,” the organizers reported earlier. However, customers of the online stores featured on the Black Friday website were disappointed with the discounts. Many of them did not exceed 20-35%.
“Discounts for the main goods are 10-15%, they are now available in almost any store. In the same "M-Video" a number of goods are cheaper than in this promotion in partner stores. I saw 90% of the discount only on software, every little thing, lamps, in other words, on a little thing, for which there is already a cheat of more than 400%. It's a shame for Russia," user Alexander Maksimov wrote in group "Sale www. Black Friday 2013. en on the social network VKontakte.
Black Friday in the USA and other countries of the world is a significant day for all shopaholics and those who like to save money. Traditionally, the winter sales season, which provides 20-40% of annual store revenue, kicks off on Black Friday, after Americans eat a traditional Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday. Crazy discounts in American stores are valid for only one day and are usually accompanied by stampedes, fights and even sometimes shooting. In the United States, up to half of the country's population visits stores on Black Friday ...

Better late than never

Better late than never
From Latin: Potius sew, quam nunquam(potius sero, kvam nunkvam).
For the first time this expression is found in the fourth book of the "History of the Roman people" the largest historian ancient rome Titus Livy (59 BC-17 AD).
Later, this expression will become a proverb in many languages. It will come to Russia as a translation from French: Mieux vaut tard que jamais. AND for a long time this maxim sounded in Russian speech only in French.
Allegorically: encouragement, approval of a person who has done, albeit belatedly, some necessary, important, noble deed. In any case, it's better than not doing it at all (jokingly ironic.).

encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

Better late than never

An expression from the "History of the Roman people" by Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD), book. 4, 2, 11: "Potius sero, quam nunguam". Often quoted as a French proverb: "Mieux vaut tard que jamais".

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004

See what "Better late than never" is in other dictionaries:

Wed Here they are very, very pleased ... Lena was told, qu il est très bien vu! Well, better late than never. Boborykin. wised up. 17. Wed. I'm afraid it's a bit late? Well, mieux tard que jamais. Leskov. bypassed. 3, 2. Cf. While … Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Better late than never. Wed Here they are very, very pleased... They said to Lena, qu'il est très bien vu! Well, better late than never. Boborykin. I've wised up. 17. Wed. I'm afraid it's a little late? “Well, mieux tard que jamais. Leskov ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Better late than never- wing. sl. An expression from the "History of the Roman people" by Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD), book. 4, 2, 11: "Potius sero, quam nunguam." Often quoted as a French proverb: "Mieux vaut tard que jamais" ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

Better late than never (Goncharova)- Critical notes. Published in the journal Russian speech in 1879, No. 6. Goncharov himself, calling the notes a critical analysis of his books, looked at them as the author's preface to a collection of his works. I'm late with this preface they will tell me... Dictionary of literary types

Better late than no one, - said the old maid, going to the hospital- (from the last. Better late than never better to do something later than not to do it ever; do not let anyone surrender to a man) 1) initial value; 2) about deprivation of virginity ... live speech. Dictionary of colloquial expressions

BETTER LATE THAN NOBODY- pogov. Edit: Better late than never. The best is the enemy of the good. There is no need to improve what is already so good. The best legs of France, if shaved and straightened praise ... Dictionary modern colloquial phraseological units and sayings

Better late- than anyone joked. common travesty. saying "better late than never"... Dictionary of Russian Argo

Union. 1. Attaches a turnover or appendage. suggestion with the meaning of comparison, comparison of whom, what l. with what is said in the main. Talk louder than usual. The stars are brighter in the south than in the north. The mountains were higher than anyone expected. 2… encyclopedic Dictionary

Pronoun. adv. (with subsequent negation, sometimes truncated). Not at any time, under any circumstances. N. was not abroad. N. did not hear. I you n. I won't forget. Like n. happy (as I have never been before). Now or never!… … encyclopedic Dictionary

Union. 1. comparative. Introduces into simple sentence comparative turn, explaining what l. member of this sentence, expressed in the form comparative degree adjective or adverb, as well as the words: "other", "other", "otherwise", etc. ... Small Academic Dictionary

Books

• Better late than never. How to start a new life at any age by Cher Barbara. About the book A bestseller with 15 years of experience that will help you live full life any age. Barbara Sher, author of the bestselling book Dreaming Is Good, changed lives with her books and speeches...
• Better late than never. How to start new life, Cher, Barbara. A bestseller with 15 years of experience that will help you live life to the fullest at any age. Barbara Sher, author of the bestselling book Dreaming Is Good, has changed the lives of millions with her books and speeches.

"1 ... That year (445) was unkind both in domestic affairs and in military affairs. Already at the very beginning of its beginning, the tribune Guy Canulei published a proposal to allow legal marriages between patricians and plebeians, in which the patricians saw a threat to the purity of their blood and orderliness of tribal rights
2... Meanwhile, the consuls turned the senate against the tribunes, and the tribunes the people against the consuls. The madness of the tribunes, said the consuls, was becoming unbearable; more wars than in foreign lands. And the reason for this is both the people and the patricians, both the tribunes and the consuls.
11 ... And there is no end to this: people's tribunes and senators cannot get along in one state: either the estate of some, or the office of others must cease to exist; "

History of Rome from the founding of the city main book Titus Libya. He wrote it for thirty years and traced the history of the city from its founding to 9 AD. Today, parts 1-10 and 21-45 of the 142 are fully known, the rest have survived to this day in retellings and fragments

Aphorisms of Titus Livy

• Woe to the vanquished
• Sometimes most of wins the best
• No crime can have a legal basis
• There is no law that would satisfy everyone

Better late than never

• German: Besser spät als nie
• English: Better late than never
• French: Mieux vaut tard que jamais
• Italian: Meglio tardi che mai
• Spanish: Mas vale tarde que nunca

The Chinese equivalent of the saying "better late than never" - Don't be afraid to procrastinate, be afraid to stop.

Use of the expression in literature

— « But I finally confessed. Better late than never. Why are you so mad at me?"(Evgeny Yevtushenko" Wolf Passport ")
— « And dreams must come true. And better late than never. The rest of the money dispersed quickly.”(Nina Caterly (Champagne Splashes)
— « But I remembered in time,” I added quietly. - Better late than never. “Truly better.”(Arkady Weiner, Georgy Weiner ("The Cure Against Fear")
— « ... Serpilin said displeasedly to the head of communications. - Better late than never! Pull the connection here!(Konstantin Simonov "The Living and the Dead")
— « What was the convenience, I did not dare to interrogate the general; better late than never, I just thought, but I realized that I would not be able to get data on the state of the allied army from him ... "(A. A. Ignatiev "Fifty years in the ranks")
— « ... said mom. - Better late than never. Father was walking along the platform(K. G. Paustovsky "Distant years")