Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. — Regina Brett

Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

Author: Regina Brett

Insight: Most of us operate on a delayed-life plan. We tell ourselves we'll travel more, dress differently, speak up, pursue weird hobbies—but later, when things settle down. When we have more money. When we're retired. When we've earned the right to be ourselves. The problem is that "later" is a moving target. There's always another reason to postpone being the person we actually want to be. Regina Brett's insight cuts through that bargaining. The purple isn't really about fashion. It's about permission—the permission we keep waiting for someone else to grant us. But eccentricity, authenticity, the quirks that make us interesting and alive, don't improve with age. If anything, waiting hollows them out. The things you're suppressing now to fit in or play it safe don't become more authentic or braver later; they just become regrets. The strange part is that most older people don't say they wish they'd been more normal. They wish they'd cared less about what others thought earlier. Being a little weird now—pursuing the odd hobby, wearing what you actually like, saying the unpopular thing—isn't selfish. It's the most honest practice run for the life you actually want to live.