2017 has really been a year of stepping out of my comfort zone and although I can see how it's making me grow some...it has also been causing me alot of stress and even some depression. The older I get the less I like change in my life but when things never change there is often stagnation in our lives too. We can get in a rut and not even realize we are in one until change somes roaring into our lives and we either accept those changes and step forward along with them, or make ourselves and sometimes others miserable by trying to make those changes go away and leave us alone. Change comes to all our lives whether we want it to or not. It's up to each of us whether we decide to think of those changes as coming with positives and not just negatives. How we decide to deal with change is going to be the deciding factor of how much peace or stress we will live with along with those changes. With all long term change there is a transistion period to go through...depending on the long term change it can be like going through mourning for something you will never have again. Aging is a transition that can bring alot of mourning and stress when we don't know how to navigate through the things aging brings to our lives. Some of my stress and depression this year has come from getting older and not knowing how to navigate through some of the changes that are happening to me and my husband. I'm having to step out of my comfort zone in so many areas of my life this year and at times it just overwhelms me. I'm having to take the lead in areas of our lives and I never have been comfortable being the leader. My introvert is having to play the extrovert at times now and this just doesn't come natural for me and makes me feel like I'm having an out of body experience. This is our reality now, this is our life now. Change is here whether we want it or not and being the positive people that we are...we will eventually wade through to the other side of it and see new growth and strength in both of us. And hopefully we will have gathered enough wisdom along the way to help others navigate change and step out of their comfort zones too.
The one positive thing to come out of all the changes you're experiencing @Babs Hunt is that many senior before you will have had to navigate those same changes and feel what you're feeling .. and therefore there's a 'manual' out there in the form of those willing to share their experiences to be able you you to navigate yours better than if you ere trying alone.. I know from what you've spoken about on here with regard some life changing experiences you're going through that it must be a very difficult path you're treading now, and I feel for you and your husband ... but hopefully, the path will even out a little bit once you learn how to navigate it with help from those who've travelled that same path before you.
Yes, we all somehow get through our rough spots in life...only to face some more. That's how it works I think.
@Holly Saunders and @Chrissy Cross It does help when others share how they made it through the things that aging and just life throws at each of us. It's scary when you feel alone in what you are going through but when you read or hear about others walking forward through some of those things...it gives you encouragement and hope that better days are ahead for you too. Living life and the changes it brings to each of our lives is quite an adventure for all of us with both good and bad times along the way. We often can't change what life brings our way, but we can decide how we are going to face those changes. I always need a little time to process new changes in my life, but after I've had that time to come to terms with what this change means and how it will affect my life...then my attitude becomes one of accepting what I cannot change and making the best of things as they are. Life is for living...and we all do it the best we can.
I love change! As a management consultant for near twenty years, no week was the same. For example. phone call Sunday afternoon- Heidelberg next morning, following week Cork, following week home office, and so on. Always been a positive thinker and have had a few black spots through life, but positive thinking has certainly helped. Everyone has weak spots, and I have 'em too (ask Carol Dobra for an assessment)