December 27, 2024: Don’t Be Old!
"No matter how hard the past year has been, starting over is always an option."
- Detroit Flanagan
Listen to this meditation on audio:
We don't always get everything done that we set out to do. We don't always do things right the first time. This beautiful thing we call life, seems to be a hodgepodge of attempts and failures, attempts and failures, attempts and successes, successes, then failures. Have you noticed how, many of the worthwhile things we try to do, are unsuccessful in the first few tries? How many times did you fall off your bike before you learned to safely ride? How many times did you mess up at jumping rope before you gained expertise? How long did it take you to learn to drive that stick shift before you got it right? How many public speaking engagements were required for you to get good at it? How many sales calls did it take on that new job before you became competent? The only reason we gained skill in the aformentioned areas was because ... wait for it! ... BECAUSE WE KEPT TRYING UNTIL WE GOT IT! It's amazing how smart at some things we were when we were young. We understood that we had to keep trying until we mastered whatever we needed to master to move ahead in life. Interestingly, those same older folks, our parents or relatives who kept telling us to "just keep trying, and you'll get it," are the same ones who now that they have matured and become seniors, those same ones have become quitters when new technologies or concepts are presented to them. They balk at the idea of learning something new and different. Here's what I have to say to that. "It's okay to get old, but don't be old!" When you stop wanting to learn about things that will simplify your life and save you time, you are old. I don't know about you, but my tombstone is not going to say "Died at 70, buried at 95." Lest we get it twisted, there are some young people who are also old. They have lost the desire to learn or try new things. Don't ever forget, learning new things requires that we are willing to risk not getting it right the first time or perhaps the second time. We have to be willing to stay at it until we get it. I don't know about you, but I plan to stay in the game until I foul out! What about you?
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