CHANGE: Some You CAN'T Change!

"CHANGE: Some You CAN'T Change!"

In my last two blog articles and podcasts I've shared some thoughts concerning CHANGES. Wow, even though the word, "change" has six letters it sure can come across as a FOUR-LETTER WORD, can't it?

Before I go any further, let me list once again four different categories of the types of changes that we encounter in our lives:

TYPES OF CHANGES: (1)Those we voluntarily bring on ourselves... (2) those that we have no choice in but are not "against" us (change of seasons, life changes due to age, etc.)... (3)those that come at us DUE TO our actions and (4) those that come to us 100% involuntarily and at no fault of our own.

In my last discussion we covered the first one listed - changes that we voluntarily bring on ourselves. If you haven't done so, you might want to go back and read that blog article as well as listen to the podcast that goes with it. You can access that podcast via my website: http://www.futureyouuniversity.com/ .... just click on video podcast and then click on the iTunes icon or the RSS feed icon.

Today I'd like to talk about that second category - changes that come regardless of what we do or don't want but that are not "against" us...or at least not purposely so.

Hey, let's face it, there are some changes that come in our life that is just a part of LIVING life, right?

You can move around the country all you want to avoid the changing seasons but, whether we like it or not or whether we want it or not, the seasons DO change! I do enjoy the change from one to the other but I don't like the extreme heat and I don't enjoy the winter months for very long. Thankfully, since I live in Arkansas the winter months are not too severe and do not last long compared to other parts of the country. But, for me, once it snows one time I'm ready for Spring to arrive!

But you know what? I can complain and whine all I want and it's not going to CHANGE a thing concerning these changes. I can gripe and complain about the change in the fall and spring with the time (spring forward, fall back...or is it, uh....) but it won't do me any good if I choose to stay living in this part of the country.

But, you know what? For some, these changes DO have an adverse affect on them and there IS something that those people CAN do to change this impact upon them. MOVE!

Seriously, these things CAN be changed to your favor to some extent if you really need them to. For example, we have some older friends that now live in Arizona due to the wife having terrible arthritis. When they lived here in Arkansas her arthritis was TERRIBLE due to the humidity here but, when they would go out to Arizona for the winter her arthritis would improve greatly. So, although she couldn't get rid of her arthritis (another change that we cannot do much about or get rid of) she COULD improve her situation by living in Arizona. And that is exactly what they did - they moved to Arizona.

The same is true concerning the changing of the time. It has been proven that many suffer from greater bouts of depression during the winter months due to the extended darkness and the effects of "cabin fever" from having to stay indoors too much. These people can also improve their situation by moving to a different area of the country or world that either does not follow the time change patterns or that is in a warmer climate with extended day light hours.

So, you see, even with those changes that come our way without our choosing them, we can STILL do SOMETHING to help out IF we need to do so.

Or we can continue to whine and complain.

Shall we talk about the changes that come with getting older? Aches and pains WILL come along with fading eyesight and other problems.

It's a fact of life but there are SOME things we can do to improve our health instead of just giving up. Will we STOP these things from happening in our life? NO. But we can delay them or reduce the impact of them in and on our lives.

So, as you would think I would say about this, even if we don't have a choice in this area of CHANGE we DO have a choice concerning the IMPACT of this change.

Just give it some thought when you find yourself getting discouraged and/or complaining about such things and ask yourself if there is ANYTHING you can do to improve the situation.

I bet there is and I bet you can come up with some things if you really want to do so.

Should we even BEGIN to talk about gas prices?

That will have to wait until some other time, friend but, until then, whatever you do, wherever you are, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

"The FEAR of GETTING OLD"

Do you remember when you were a teenager and what the definition of "old" was then? What was it for you - 20? 25? I'd say with certainty that, at that time in your life anyone that was 40 was "over the hill"!

I remember that I could not wait until I reached the age of 13 - to be a teenager.
Then, I couldn't wait until I reached the age of 14 - the age that I could get my driver's permit.
Then, I couldn't wait until I reached the age of 16 - the age at which I could drive by myself.
Then, I couldn't wait until I reached the age of 18 - just because it seemed to be an age that I was supposed to be an "adult" to some extent.
So, not age now, but I couldn't wait until I graduated high school - then college.
Then I couldn't' wait until I got married - then couldn't wait to have our first child.
Then I couldn't wait until he began to walk and talk.....and then from that point on it seemed like everything began to fly by way too fast!

Now, I'm 49 and will be 50 in November. I've been married for a little over 27 years. That first child, Jacob is now 25 and will have been married for 3 years on July 29th - tomorrow as I type this. My second son, Jeremy, is now 22 and has been married for a year as of the 11th of this month and my youngest son, Jordan is 18 and will begin his Senior year of High School (no, he didn't flunk - we just kept him out until he "had" to go - teachers have agreed with us that, for boys, this was a good thing to do).

You know, if I wanted to, I could look at all of that and really let it get me down. You know, I could allow myself to think stuff like, "WHERE HAS MY LIFE GONE?" I could really get melancholy over the fact that so much in my life has changed and it feels like - at times - that it has done so very quickly.

But....instead...I look at all of that and I am proud of what I have accomplished in my life up to this point! I am proud of the 27 years that I have been married to my wife, Janan. Has it been perfect - no. But it's been good! I'm proud of the fine young men that all 3 of my sons have grown up to be and am proud of the wonderful young ladies that my two oldest sons have chosen as their wives.

Sure, I do get a little misty-eyed at times when I look at pictures of the boys when they were young and I had dark hair as I carried them around on my back, or played ball with them in the yard. That's natural.

BUT...I have a choice on how I allow this to impact my life and my days! I LOVE MY LIFE! I love my age even though there are times that I am reminded that I cannot do some of the things I could do in days past. For example, I have a pair of glasses at my house, next to my chair. I have a pair of glasses at my office and (my wife really got a kick out of this) I had to buy another pair to carry with me on my motorcycle because I could read the map without them!

Sure, I know that - for the most part - my life is just about half way over. But why think about that? Why worry about that? I also know that now - at this stage in my life - I am enjoying things that I was not able to enjoy before! My wife and I are experiencing the ability to do things that we could not do when our sons were small and dependent on mom and dad for everything. Financially I am able to enjoy and do things that I could not do just a few short years ago. Do I still struggle at time? Yes! Am I set for life? No! But I live each day and I am trying to live each day to the full!

What about you? Do you dread your birthdays? Do you focus on what you cannot regain that you used to possess (your youth, for example)?

It's all in your mindset, my friend. It's up to you!

In the podcast for Wednesday we will discuss what Napoleon Hill lists as the "Symptoms of the Fear of Getting Old" but, for now....think about your day TODAY! And, as I mention in most all of my podcasts, always remember this fact: "As long as there is breath, there is hope!"

Celebrate your life. Today. Now. It's yours!

And, always remember -

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike