One of the most troubling moments can be the thought of starting a new habit, hobby, or goal. We find what is comfortable the older we get and decide that we have arrived at the best we will get. New things only give the potential for new failure, heartbreak, or embarrassment. At the same time, those outcomes happen for all of us. What if there was a way to approach new ideas safely that kept life expanding and growing while also creating safe expectations? Like a muscle needing use, new experiences will atrophy and become nonexistent if growth takes the seat of yesteryear.

Here are a few guidelines for the safe and healthy implementation of new ideas.

1. Do not look at what others are doing to decide what kind of growth or new idea to add. Look inward to who you are. Is there something you have always wanted to try or a characteristic that you always wished to describe yourself? Then discover how to add it to your life. If it is something you care about, it will be worth trying, and when that moment of difficulty comes where you may consider quitting the new idea altogether, that personal desire will keep you in place long enough to give it your all.

2. Permit yourself to try something for a short time. It is ok to decide to try something for a month or a season. See if you like it and enjoy success. Suppose you have always wanted to volunteer somewhere and help others. Make sure your commitment can be short enough to assess if the outcomes are genuinely beneficial to the life you are living. As a pastor and community leader, I have seen people make significant commitment decisions and have regret and guilt- regret saying yes and guilt because they want to quit. 

3. Commit in small steps. Instead of going to a new workout class every day, go once a week or once a month. See if you miss it and then commit more time and energy to the right things that give life.

4. Once you commit, let someone know you have made that commitment and ask them to bring it up every once and a while. This idea is not a tough love conversation but someone who can celebrate your success while potentially giving you advice if there are challenging moments with this new addition to life.

5. Realize that any change or new scenery can be difficult, so give it more than once. If you do not feel safe or there is a real danger, then get out of there immediately. Nevertheless, taking a moment to get past being uncomfortable is typically needed whenever adding people, groups, or new ideas into this life we are so honored to live out.

6. Laugh at yourself! This approach might be the most essential advice. We live once, and we are all learning. The more you realize that you can enjoy change, the better handle you will have on keeping what is good and removing what does not work.

7. Make only a few changes at a time. We have all been around people who make this long list of new year’s resolutions only to see discouragement take over as it was too much to take on all at once. Just enjoy the process of one or two things and once you figure out how to handle those items, consider if there is another.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Take an art class
• Learn a new language
• Garden
• Join a choir
• Learn ball room dancing
• Read a new style of books
• Exercise
• Volunteer in a group that helps others
• Inspect personal habits and attitudes- consider anything that may need tweaking
• Travel somewhere new
• Help the generation that is learning- they need you
• Be creative, be courageous and be prepared to laugh!

It is truly an honor to take a moment each month to share some encouraging words with you and keep you informed on what is taking place in our region and our world. I look forward to 2023, and all the moments we will have together through the enjoyment of Senior Spectrum. Let us make this next year the best one, beginning with our attitudes and approaches to life.