In your prime
The phrase we’re going to talk about today is “in your prime.” When you’re in your prime, you’re in the most vital, most energetic, most productive part of your life. The tragedy of suicides is that it takes people before they reach their prime. It is the second-leading cause of death among people between ages 15 and 34. A disturbing number of adolescents under age 15 take their own lives. Any preventable death is a tragedy, but these are especially sad, as they take people before they reach the prime of their lives—before the reach that great middle part of your life where you can reach your potential, start a family, excel in your career, contribute to society, or be the happiest.
When do you think is the prime of your life? It can be different for different people. Athletes tend to be in the prime earlier than the rest of us. A baseball player, for example, is in his prime between about age 26 and 29. It can be different for athletes in different sports. In athletic sports like figure skating, tennis, and gymnastics, your prime is earlier. In more skill-based sports like basketball and golf, it’s later.
For people in business, our prime comes later. The way I see it, in your 20s, you don’t know anything. In your 30s, you’re ramping up, preparing. By your 40s and early 50s, usually, you’re in the prime of your working life. That’s when you can make the greatest impact. You’ve got some experience, you’ve learned a lot, and you’re now ready to make your biggest strides in business. By your late 50s and 60s, you can still contribute, but most people are past their prime and thinking about retirement.
Evolution has its own opinion. Evolution cares about two things: survival and reproduction. From that perspective, people are in their prime between ages 18 and 35.
Three ways to use this. You can say someone is “in her prime” if that person is in the most vital, energetic part of her life or career. Or, you can say someone has “hit his prime” if that person has just arrived at his most productive time. Then you can say someone is “past his prime” if you want to say that his best days are behind him. That’s sometimes not polite to say, unless it’s kind of obvious, like in the case of an athlete. On the Yankees, CC Sabathia is going to retire after this year. He is well past his prime because he’s 39 years old; that’s old for a pro athlete. It’s not insulting to say that he’s past his prime if he’s a 39- year-old pro athlete. Speaking of the Yankees, the Colombian Gio Urshela is hitting the tar off the ball. He’s 27 and he’s hitting his prime now, a little late for a baseball player. The Venezuelan Gleyber Torres is 22. He’s doing really well in his early career, but he still probably hasn’t reached his prime yet.
JR’s song of the week
JR’s song of the week is “Forever Young” by Alphaville. It goes along well with the idea of being in the prime of your life. It’s kind of an optimistic song that’s usually associated with high school graduations and that part of your life. It was released in 1984 by a German band, but became more popular in the US than in Germany itself and has been included in a lot of soundtracks. If you have any songs you’d like to nominate for future episodes, you can send them to [email protected].
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