It's Never Too Late To Change
It’s never too late to change anything about your life. Don’t listen to the people who say you’re too old to do something. If it’s something you really want to do, and it’s within reason, do it! What’s “in reason”? Almost anything you’re physically capable of. If you want to learn how to play the piano, become an actor or a novelist, a painter or a glass blower, sit down an make a plan to get it done. Don’t listen to the voices of other people who say you’re too old or that you’ve lost your mind. Don’t listen to anything but that inner voice that is speaking to you about something you’ve been needing to do all your life. There’s a reason you’re hearing that voice!
I happen to think that retirement is the time of your life where you can do all the things you thought about doing but couldn’t because life got in the way. The responsibility of supporting yourself and your family in some kind of employment, all the time you spent at work or going to family activities might have kept you from pursuing a dream or desire you held at some point in your life. There was nothing wrong with doing all of those other things because they were very worthwhile (or you wouldn’t have done them), but something was pushed to the side. Maybe it was that rock band and career you always wanted or perhaps a career in baseball or football. It’s never too late to change direction. Can you now become the starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers? No, but there’s no reason you can’t be part of a senior’s league and still get your competitive juices flowing. Life is worth living and realizing your dreams are a big part of it.
I've heard from some people that this sounds very self-centered but, from my perspective, it's not self-centered at all. Getting to know your inner being is one of the ways you get to know who you are, what your purpose in life and how you can help other people on their journey. If that sounds a little mystical allow me to explain. In my view, life is a journey and we will never really complete unless we know what our lives are all about. Some people knew it from the beginning, and I hope they know how lucky they are. Their passion aligned perfectly with their working career and that is a beautiful thing. I was not someone who could ever figure out what I wanted to do for a living. I got through forty years of providing for my family (which I do believed fulfilled one of my purposes in life), but there was nothing about my job that fulfilled my inner being. I looked at retirement as a time to address that and make the most of whatever time I have left on this earth. What I found out is that I was probably meant to do a lot of things and learn as much as I could in the process. History and the people who made it absolutely fascinates me and writing provides a wonderful release and sense of satisfaction. When you find something that you love to do, you work at it to master and, hopefully, develop a discipline that you can use in other phases of your life. When you develop something close to a "reverence" to an activity and aspire to be as good as you can be at something, I think you understand that you need to bring that same seriousness to all of life. Your relationships and activities are improved when you bring a commitment to excellence and, no matter what happened in the past, it's never too late to change something in your life for the better. When we get to know ourselves better and what's important in our life, we begin to see the importance of other people.
It's never too late to change anything about your life. Never.
I always dreamed about visiting the places that I read about and saw in pictures. All the historical sites that kept me reading all through the night were places I had to see someday. Some of them were within reach before I retired, especially places in the United States. We planned our vacations around the places that had fascinated me since childhood because I was determined to pass along my love of history to my children. I didn’t quite instill a love for the topic, but they have more of an appreciation than most people and they make their father very proud when they relate a story about one of our vacations at the Alamo, Mount Vernon, Monticello or colonial Boston. If you have a desire to travel but have not gotten around to it for one reason or another, it’s never too late to change your inactivity into a thirst for travel. I really believe that the more you travel and engage in other cultures and study the history behind all of these wonderful places, the more you want to do even more exploration of this wonderful world that we live in.
We have been very fortunate to be able to travel in retirement when we have the time and no obligations to a job. It’s been fascinating to sail the Mediterranean and visit so many place that were once just pictures and places on my wish list. Athens and Rome exceeded everything I had imagined and, with the help of very competent guides, the history and the culture came to life in a way that would not have happened if we had just been “tourists”. Jerusalem and it’s history could be studied for a lifetime, and you’ll still be learning new things every day when you visit the places depicted in the Bible. The information provided by tour guides can literally be life changing. Were you one of those people who never liked to study history? It’s never too late to change that and, when you experience the places where history happened, you may find yourself doing a little research on your own.
Our children have learned to appreciate art, music and literature with trips that brought these gifts from the masters to life. You can’t walk through the Louvre without gaining a sense of appreciation for the artists who gave their lives to their works. Listen to Handel’s Messiah in a grand cathedral and you may find yourself lost in the beauty of the moment. And visit the home of Charles Dickens and tell me you don’t feel the ghost of Christmas Past. History, combined with travel is a wonderful thing. So is finding your own lost passion whether it’s music, history, art, sports, writing or photography. It’s waiting to be explored because it’s never to late to change from a dreamer and spectator into an active participant.
Go on and give it a try. Become world class golfer or a gourmet cook. Become a motivational speaker or a travel or restaurant critic. Explore that inner person inside you and realize that it’s never too late to change. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends. If you haven’t done so already, be sure you take The Self Discovery Challenge for Retirement! It’s designed to help you make the most of this wonderful time of your life. You’re never too old to discover something new about yourself
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