As long as you have a mind and body, you are capable of changing your life. However, the amount of change is determined by how well you use these gifts.
You’re probably thinking that you may be too old to change because it might feel like your life isn’t going anywhere, or at least, not in the direction you want to be heading. However, this does not mean that your life isn’t already changing.
Change is inevitable! Even if you are sitting on your couch watching TV, you are still changing. Blood is coursing through your body, your cells are reproducing, and your mind is being altered by the content you are watching.
Outside, the sky is constantly changing, the trees are growing, and the neighbors may be painting their house a different color…. Change is constantly happening, and although many changes may seem small and insignificant, they are the building blocks of your life…. and without continual change, you would die.
If you were to choose different thoughts that lead to different actions, even just one action could forever alter the course of your life….. as many choices have done throughout your life already. And all it begins with what you are thinking…
Am I Too Old To Change My Life?
While you are breathing, you can change your life. Some actions will produce small changes while others can significantly alter the direction your life takes. The amount of change you are capable of creating is only limited by your beliefs and the focus and determination you invest into your desired outcomes. You could drink water instead of another beer, or you could sell everything and move to another country. Your age certainly does not limit what you can choose, however, your mind probably will.…
So, Your Life Isn’t Going As Well As You Expected
You’ve made it to 20, 34, 62, or 97 years of age…. And you’re reflecting on ‘where you are’ in your life. Maybe you’re thinking, bugger, I wish I had done this and that, I should have more money saved, why didn’t I take that opportunity/date the other person/choose a different career, invest in bitcoin back then, etc….
The list of stuff we didn’t do is huge, and it can really weigh us down if we let it. The reality is that we didn’t do those things back then, and we can’t go back to those times and change the past. So, it’s a great idea if you just accept where you are at this moment and get on with creating a better future for yourself, starting now.
Any regrets that you have, that you keep regurgitating, are suffocating your ability to enjoy your life now they are making it impossible for you to plan for a better future!
Why? Because the quality of your life is dependent on how you are feeling…. and you cannot be feeling good and sitting around having regrets about your past at the same time. It’s time to realize that “Nothing is more important that the way you feel!”
Sometimes We Don’t Get To Consciously Choose The Changes That Happen In Our Lives!
Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at things) we can’t control every aspect of our lives. Life is dynamic and therefore stuff is always going to be happening…. and some of it will affect you. Often the first reaction is Oh My God, why did this happen to me?
The pandemic came along and many people’s lives were immediately changed, (it wiped out my business!) Maybe the person you wanted to marry ran away with someone else, your child fell out of a tree and broke their arm, or Twitter deleted your account causing you to lose a million plus followers….
However, even if we don’t get to choose some of the stuff that is happening around us, we do get to choose how we react to it. And your ability to be aware of, and then react appropriately to the changes that are taking place depends on how actively involved you are with what’s happening around you.
It going to be more difficult if you are stuck in the same routine every day, living life in autopilot mode…. you will be less aware of the changes that are going on all around you all the time. And this means that you will be missing out on many opportunities to positively change your life….
Are Your Excuses Holding You Back From Changing Your Life?
So, while change is inevitable, it doesn’t mean that we will be happy about it or even get on board with them. It seems that many people do whatever they can to avoid having their stable, comfortable, and secure lives disrupted in any way whatsoever.
The excuses people come up with for reasons why they can’t change are wide-ranging…. However, at the end of the day, they are just ‘excuses’ to justify why they cannot change!
‘Cannot’ is a word they often use… however, this is not a word based in reality. Because in reality, many people do change, embrace change, and even look forward to changing….. so if others can do it, so can you!
What are some of the excuses you are using that prevent you from changing your life?
1) I’m too old to change!
Check out this video…. I bet 99.99999% of people would have said that this guy was too old to learn hip-hop. Luckily for him, he didn’t listen to any of them and just set about learning how to dance….. for no good reason other than it is something that he wanted to do!
The quality of your life relies on you doing things that bring you happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy. You are never happy when you put your dreams aside and settle for a mediocre/uneventful life. Your personal growth and development are dependent on you stepping outside of your comfort zone….
…. you have to put yourself in a place of ‘not-knowing’ so that you can learn new things and skills…. This is just a fact of life. All positive growth begins from a place of not knowing.
2) I don’t know how to begin to change my life.
Many people, my mum included, have complained for many years about being bored and not knowing what they can do to fill in their days. She has friends, has money, and lives in a great village with many other retired people…. and yet she wants her life to be different, but doesn’t know how.
It’s all very well to want to change, but until you define what you want that change to look like, you are never going to achieve it! First, you have to know what it is about your life that you want to change. Do you want more/different friends, a new skill, better health, etc?
The better able you are to define what you want, the clearer the steps to achieving your goals will become. And then you can take that first step, and then the next…. And even though the steps may not be perfect, as the momentum builds, you will be heading in the right direction and you will be grateful that you were brave enough to begin.
3) I don’t have the necessary skills to make the changes I want.
This excuse just affirms your level of self-doubt. You are putting stuff off that would make you happy because you don’t believe you can do it. Well, no one was ever born an expert at anything. Even the geniuses amongst us had to go through the processes of learning and training.
Sure, it seems that some things come easier for some people, and while this can be true, it is also because they have already developed the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to make their new goals and dreams the next logical step along the way.
Surrounding yourself with the right people to help you get to where you want to be is an important aspect that helps you get there easier and quicker. You can learn how to avoid many mistakes along the way.
4) It’s not the right time. I’ll begin tomorrow/next week/next year/when the sun comes out and pigs fly!
How many times do you already regret not doing stuff that you wanted to do? If something is important to you, you will stop procrastinating and make the time to begin it now! We all know tomorrow never comes…. So stop kidding yourself that you will get around to it later.
For most goals we have, there will never be a perfect time to start. Diet… birthday party next week, exercise… my arm is a bit sore today, makeup with an old friend…. Oops, they’re gone already! Now is the only time that you can do something, so begin it now!
Maybe you just think you are too busy to pursue the things that you want. Ouch! You’ve got the time to sit around and complain about not being able to change your life, but no time to take actual small steps towards changing it? Really?
Complaining about stuff robs us of vital life energy, whereas doing stuff that leads to our happiness and fulfillment creates positive energy within us, body, mind, and spirit….Which option would a sane person choose?
5) I’m afraid that I will fail.
A good place to begin with this excuse is by contemplating what you will regret the most… starting and not succeeding or not starting at all. None of us could walk the first time we tried, or ride a bike, swim, do math, etc….
However, successful people, when they don’t get the results they want, just pick themselves up, assimilate what they have learned, and move on…. grateful for the experience and stronger in the knowledge that they are not defeated and that they can go always try again if that is what they want.
Persistence is the key to success. And it’s often by making small changes, frequently, that returns the best results. If you do this, you will build new neural connections in your brain that result in new beneficial habits being formed. Once the first set of good habits is established, the next things you want to change for the better just become easier and easier to achieve.
So, What’s It Going To Be…. Are You Really Too Old To Change Your Life?
How many chances do you get at life? many people think only one, and yet they still muck around and don’t put their best effort into making it a great life.
Can you go back and fix the things you regret, the things you put off, or the things you didn’t do because of whatever excuse? No, you can’t!
You are here and the time is now…. and now is the only time that you have options available.
The obvious two options are 1) continue on as you are, believing you can’t change your life, or 2) just do something, anything, to begin moving in a direction that will be satisfying for you.
Yes, start where you are, and start now, or die with regret in your heart for all the opportunities that you didn’t take…..
Fauja Singh was the first 100-year-old to run a marathon… and he only started running marathons when he was already 89!
Prioritize what it is you want to achieve with the rest of your life, and then set about taking some steps toward doing the things that will bring you the most satisfaction….
Remember, this is your life…. and no one else is going to live it for you. So if there is something you want to achieve, something that’s really important to you, you have to do it, and yes, you can do it…. and it begins now with a first step in the right direction….
