People often say “I’m too old to…..” or “You’re too young to…..” and it’s not often in a complimentary manner.

I was thinking the other day about how I learned things when I was younger. To put this in context it was as I was reflecting on how much I have learned from my current boss in just one short year (it hasn’t even been a year yet..and she’s abandoning us soon too darn it). I was wondering to myself how I learned things when I was younger since I know I was just like most young people who don’t think they have much to learn or that the people around them can’t teach them anything. On top of that I remember a couple of weeks ago when one of the guys I work with brought his son in to work and it was so cute because the son mirrored all of this guy’s behaviors and stances to the tee. When you see something like that you realize how much children model you. It should make you pay attention more to how you behave around them.

Young people are not as resistant to change as we may think. They just need to process the information in different ways. And you can’t expect them to admit or say anything about accepting that information. I think they just “model” behaviors they see as do children. So, if you want to effect change, you have to be what you want them to be. No more of the “do as I say, not as I do” type behavior because it won’t work. They absorb much more than I think we give them credit for.

Frequently us older folks are accused of not being open to change. I probably fit in that category until this past year when I’ve had to admit how often my boss was right and then go on to admit that I could learn a great deal from her if I just paid more attention and stopped any type of resistance. And most of all, eliminate the automatic brain response “Yes, BUT…..”, which, of course, is the politically correct way of saying “ok, we’ll do it your way because you’re the boss but you’ll see that I AM REALLY the right one here”…ha ha.

I hear old people being accused of not being technically savvy and not being able to learn new things. What’s the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? The reason for that is that the old dog does not WANT to learn a new trick. If you can convince them of the benefits that come with the new trick they can pick up pretty quickly drawing upon all their experience in life. They might even be able to offer viable modifications if you asked them and were willing to listen.

I think that everyone is able to change no matter how old or young they are. And I have finally found that welcoming change is very exciting and can inject life into the possibly boring normal every day life. That is a very big change for me but one which I’m happy about.  If you go through some type of change that has a positive outcome for you, you’ll start to enjoy it as well and be able to integrate it into your life more easily.

How do you change? Do you resist change? Do you feel your age works against you in the “change arena?” Do you embrace and welcome change as more of an awakening and exciting part of life? A new journey so to speak?

Express your opinion here. Let others know how you feel about change and about what you’ve dealt with in others.

Terrie