Do you really peak in life?

“You can have it all, but not all at once,” — Alyssa Bethke said on a podcast I listened to back when I was 16 (7 years ago).

The big fear I have always had: What happens after I hit my peak? I heard people say, “I peaked in high school” or “college is the peak in life”. These comments were petrifying whenever I thought about changes. I also fear sadness to my core; these statements just added fuel to the fire.

Alyssa Bethke's elaboration on her quote led me to create this statement to use in my life:

I can’t experience Bryant-Denny when I’m doing all-star cheer. I can’t have a spouse when I am living with my girlfriends. I can’t have a baby and still travel the world. And I can’t be a grandparent and still have my kids running around at home.

It seems like a lot of “I can’ts”, but it was a very, very freeing thought.

She painted a beautiful mindset of life that puts into perspective: you can’t have a peak in life unless you put a part of it on a peddlestool or make it an idol. All of it has joys and loves that can only be experienced then and there.

You can have it all, but not all at once — if we did, we would be God.