Change was easy at 23. Tired of the old boyfriend? He is outta here. Tired of your tiny little house or dumpy apartment? Move tomorrow. Tired of your job? There must be something better. If not, I’ll go on unemployment.
At 58 change is not just difficult – it’s close to impossible. I never thought I would be resistant to change. I was a free spirit, a flower child. Yet today I cling to my lifestyle, my business and my home as if my life depended on every one of them remaining exactly the same.
But without change there is no adventure – no growth. We wouldn’t learn to kayak or get in better physical shape with a new workout routine. We wouldn’t get that great new hairstyle or makeover. We wouldn’t extricate ourselves from a bad marriage or boring job.
The most interesting women I know are the ones who take risks later in life. The ones who go back to school, quit their jobs to start their own business, or get a divorce to pursue their lifelong dream of being on their own. They’re interesting because they are brave. They are heroes for their courage to keep trying, to keep chasing their dreams, and holding on to their passion for life. Without change you start to hear words like "stodgy," "crotchety" and "set in her ways" uttered behind your back. And unfortunately, you immediately recognize who they’re talking about.
Anais Nin said, "Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death." We’re too young to die – literally or figuratively. We need to know how to text message. Why? Because it’s what people do today – unless they’re old. We need to know what the popular trends are in hair, make up and fashion, then adapt them to a look that’s right for our age, but still hip. We need to know who Lindsay Lohan is – not because she matters, but because she’s part of the culture of our country in 2007.
We need to constantly identify which change is right for us, and overcome our fear of making the right changes. It’s daunting. It’s terrifying. But it’s the most gratifying thing we can do for ourselves in the long run.
