Ya Have to Adjust

To Life Changes #122

Photo by Srinivas Sudagani on Unsplash

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I moan and groan as signs of aging show up. I’ve had successful surgery for a detached retina and cataracts, but have dry eyes and double vision. There is a ringing in my ears. New aches and pains appear daily, coupled with a bit of arthritis - and then there are the wrinkles. I get tired more easily, forget things, and on it goes. Woe is me!

My complaints are minuscule, though, in comparison to

• 7.7 million Sudanese facing acute malnutrition or starvation as they enter a fifth year of severe food insecurity

• the battle actor Jeremy Renner faced after a heavy snowplow ran over him breaking 30 bones in his body.

I read these words in a recent article.

Many things are good for us that we don’t want to do. The less energy we have, the harder it is to motivate ourselves to do those things. When we’re having a particularly tough day, it would be ideal to overcome the challenge with discipline 100% of the time, but sometimes it’s better to give in than to resist.

But when we do give in, we can’t give up. Instead, we need to adjust.

What caught my eye was the last sentence. I need to learn the art of adjusting - just as the people in Sudan and Jeremy Renner did.

Numerous websites discuss the aging process. Here are three:

• World Health Organization

• National Institute of Health

• The Center for Disease Control

This video offers ideas for men and women wishing to tackle aging issues.

Various websites offer helpful ideas as well, such as:

• Jefferson Health

• Fifty Forward suggests that older adults.

  • Focus on things they are grateful for

  • Acknowledge and express their feelings

  • Accept the things they can't change

  • Look for the silver lining

  • Take daily action to deal with life's challenges

  • Pick up a long-neglected hobby or try a new one

Time to put on my big girl pants and figure out what adjustments I can make - today. Well, these three came to mind - as starters.

Step 1 - accept that my body is aging - it’s a fact. While I can do a lot, I can’t do as much as I did. Let that be okay.

Step 2 - focus on what I can do rather than what I can’t. They say

In that case, I better pay more attention.

Step 3 - stop feeling sorry for myself and dwell on the plusses in life.

Making those adjustments just might make aging well a bit easier. What do you think?

• Combatting the Narratives of Learned Helplessness - When what you've learned teaches you to sabotage yourself.

• Prompted: Finding the Optimal Solution - Our brains are trained to optimize for survival, but the optimal solution in a modern world has new constraints and requires different goals.