A WRINKLE and a WONDER a Week #8

 a Wrinkle

It’s that time of the New Year. All of the health clubs will be be crowded with new faces all determined to lose weight and get in shape—their New Year’s resolutions for 2026. Past experience tells me the crowd will thin out, generally within a few weeks, and New Year’s resolutions will be abandoned. I may have been one of those faces. How and why do people actually change? One thing for sure is I can’t change anyone else, although I’ve never stopped trying. Yes, the buck stops with me! Does anyone have change for a buck? Anyway this whole idea of deciding to make a positive change and actually doing it is a mystery to me. I stopped smoking many years ago and I still don’t really understand how I did that! My Mother always said “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I still hate to hear that because willpower is not easy to get and whatever it is I have so little of it, but I know my Mom was right. I’ve had so many years to cement bad habits, settle into comfortable inertia, and I fall asleep at 9 which doesn’t give me much time! My “default” settings are hard-wired and I’m guilty of thinking “This is just who I am”. In spite of all these concerns, there are still changes I want to make and goals I want to meet. I’m still here so there’s more to come! If one of my goals is to practice more self-acceptance that requires a change in my thinking and attitudes which may be the hardest of any changes to make. Most days I’m pretty optimistic, but some days I’m just tired!

a Wonder

So is it harder for older people to change? What does AI say? ChatGPT tells me “Short answer: yes, its usually harder-but very much still possible.” Who am I to argue with artificial intelligence? As an older adult I have certain advantages that young people lack when it comes to making the changes I desire. There’s always my, “Been there, done that.”, experiences which hopefully have taught me at least what does not work in changing myself. Giving myself permission to smoke according to a schedule never worked to make me a non-smoker, it had to be cold turkey. Rewarding myself with the poison I’m trying to banish from may life has never worked for me.  I don’t “reward” myself with booze or sugar. I know I have to start with small changes and consider slow progress a success. When I started running it was a block, then 5 blocks and so on- up to miles. I don’t believe in “whipping” myself into shape or anything else. I think the biggest difference in making changes in my life ,from my younger years to now, is my motivation for doing so.  I’m not trying to “stake my claim” in the world any longer. Success is something different now. I’m not trying to win, I’m trying to matter. I want to actively increase my participation  in  social, cultural and political arenas where I believe I can make a difference and be a part of the community. This is what I resolve for the new year:  Show up, practice gratitude and cherish family and friends everyday!  And of course lose 10 pounds, and learn how to do a back flip…

Possibilities aren’t endless, but the odds are pretty good this year will be better than 2025…. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!