By Duncan Rinehart, Ph.D. “The doctor said I have pre-diabetes” a friend of mine told me. After we chatted about what he would do in response, he said, “I’m too old. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” He’s 65. As any senior citizen knows, growing older entails changing. Some of those changes we choose such as when to retire, what we do with our time, whether and when we travel and where we live. Some of those changes we don’t choose like losing friends and family members, gaining grandchildren, and various aches, diseases and changes in our bodies and minds. Many of the illnesses of aging can be treated (like pre-diabetes) or better managed through changes in our lifestyle, changes we can make. We can choose to make changes in diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, sleep practices, and stress management.
But have we become too old to make those changes? You may know the saying from Peter Senge, “People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.” As we age, we are changed. Like many of us – me included – my friend resists the changes he could make, changes to deal with his pre-diabetes. We resist change for many reasons including avoiding the uncertainty of losing what is familiar, and the feelings we have as we lose control. We may also resist the changes of aging because we see them as happening to us, not as our choice. Yet, we have choice. We can choose how we respond to the changes that the passing of many years brings to us. We can indeed “learn new tricks”.
Change tips
Here are a few tips from Choosingtherapy.com for making changes as we age. A health and wellness coach can help you with any of these.
Get information. Gain understanding of why change is needed, what steps to take, what to expect.
Embrace the change. Develop acceptance of the new reality to give you resilience and help you find the benefits that the change may bring.
Explore how you made changes before. How did you do it? How did you use your strengths and abilities? What did you learn?
Practice mental and emotional positivity. Use positive self-talk and re-interpret events in a more positive way.
Practice a healthy lifestyle to help you cope with change. Get adequate sleep, good nutrition, regular physical activity and manage stress through breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation.
Have a support system. Cultivate an environment where you feel nurtured and validated, where you have people you can trust for information, for listening to you, and for caring about you.
The cloud of change and its silver lining
In writing this blog I learned two new words. Sophophobia is the fear of learning. Metathesiophobia is the fear of change. While most of us do not have these phobias in the clinical sense, as we age, we may find that we are more resistant to learning and making the changes that will help us thrive. I know that I am. I get annoyed when a favorite app or a software that I depend on changes, and I have to spend time re-learning how to use it. And I don’t like not being able to exercise as I used to. But the freedom I have found, once I no longer pursued a career and had raised a family has been wonderful. The changes that I have had to make and the ones I have chosen to make have opened up new opportunities for me that I did not foresee. I hope this blog inspires you to pursue the changes that you want to make to live your senior years with the best health and well-being that you can.