1. Losing time A good friend, who is a middle child, once told me, “You firstborns just go and do stuff.” Well, yes. And the problem with that is? I’ve had a strong sense of responsibility and urgency from a young age. I’m not the peacemaker or the great listener. I’m the leader and the doer. Losing my mother to early onset Alzheimer’s disease before I was 30 only strengthened that sense of urgency.