You and Your Aging Process: Embrace the Changes, Don’t Deny Them

Celebrate your years…

Aging is a fact of life. And yet, it’s a fact that we are often tempted to deny.

Indeed, finding time to greet the transitions of aging is a topic that many who write about time and time management skills actually shy away from.

Why?

Well, for one thing, ours is not a culture that is welcoming of the aging process.  And you can see why that might be so. After all, our mortality is wrapped in our aging.

That’s not an easy thing to contemplate. There’s a natural tendency to turn away.

But denial never helps.

Turning away out of fear always makes the thing we are avoiding loom larger. So, there’s that.

And in reality, there are few things as rewarding as:

• Creating the time and space to accommodate changes as you age, and
• Achieving true, heart-based contentment as you grow to meet these essential challenges.

Aging is one of those sneaky surprises.

Intellectually, you know that with each birthday you grow older. However, some of the consequences of growing older can creep up on you, giving you an emotional jolt and leaving you without a plan, or even without the time required to make the necessary adjustments.  When you find yourself in that spot, you know you’ve fallen into a time trap!

For example – does it seem that, as you age, projects ‘suddenly’ take much longer to complete? Of course, the slowdown has actually been occurring gradually over some period of time. But your realization of the reality of slowing down can seem to come out of the blue.

The challenge, when you find yourself in this kind of a situation is to avoid three types of reactions that are really Time Traps because they keep you from living your moments as fully as possible.

3 Time Traps:

• First, avoid denial. It is tempting, when you first realize that it takes you longer to complete a task, to think this is a one-time occurrence and that if you simply focus and work harder, your original efficiency will return. It’s a time trap to behave as if something is going to return to the way it was when it probably won’t.
• Second, avoid becoming entrenched in anger and frustration.  This is a natural initial response, but as you grow angrier and more frustrated, you also become slower and less accurate.  This time trap creates a vicious cycle in which your frustration grows as your efficiency and effectiveness dwindle
• Third, don’t remain mired in sadness. It is important, of course, to grieve the loss of your former level of efficiency as you work to embrace your new reality. By acknowledging and accepting this, you gain clarity about your options.  Expressing your grief is one of the most freeing, cleansing, and deepening experiences that you can give yourself.  The time trap comes into it if your grief is persistent and debilitating.

The difficulty that accompanies denial, chronic resentment, or despondency is that these responses limit your ability to make functional and appropriate time choices.

Try something different…

A much more fruitful and enriching path is to take the heart-based time management approach.  Acknowledge your feelings of loss, and express them in appropriate ways within appropriate contexts. Then prepare to resolve the issues that arise.

This balanced approach will keep you grounded and aware. It will enable you to maintain clarity and problem-solve effectively, to move forward, and to feel good about what you accomplish.

That is your challenge as you greet your aging and avoid the time traps that can accompany this process, or really any process that involves loss. And really, when you step back and think about it, this applies to ANY change. There are always gains and losses — things to greet and things to grieve.

So, how are you greeting your aging – or other changes that you may be challenged by?  Share a comment here or drop me a line at paula@paulaeder.com. I’d love to hear your challenges, questions, and successes.

And for more help with your time challenges…

To become your most powerful and flexible self, sign up for our complimentary gift, the Finding Time Success Kit.

The Success Kit includes “The New Finding Time Boundary Template: 9 Simple, Sequential Steps to Find More Time and Recharge Your Energy!” This time template will help you move beyond overwhelm, disappointment, and frustration. Using a workbook format, with room to record your answers, you will discover that 24 hours really are enough.

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Let’s explore time together …