It can be easy to overlook, but each new day offers us a chance for a new beginning. It doesn’t matter the time, the day of the week, or the month of the year – we all can choose to take action and make changes today, right now.
A recent poll revealed that 80% of Americans “feel stuck” in their routines and daily life, while studies have indicated that as we age, it is common to find change to be more difficult than it was in our younger years.
Now is the time to smash stereotypes and to start Growing Bolder. No matter your age, it is never too late to make the rest of your life the best of your life. To imagine the life you want to live, to try something new, and to find passion and purpose in life.
Take it from Claire Johnson, a woman in her 50s who has prided herself on staying open to the possibilities of life. She has pivoted countless times in her life – from a medical doctor to a mother, to a professional photographer, world traveler, and FAA-certified drone pilot. She refuses to let her current chapter define her next chapter, something she believes we can all learn from.
Photo Credit: Mike Dunn for Growing Bolder
"‘Someday’ is not a day of the week,” Johnson urges. “Just commit, make the plan, and do it. We contemplate and we hem and haw, then look back years later and say, ‘I should have, I could have.’ I would say just jump in now.”
What can you begin today that would give you a fresh start? Consider making a change today in one of these areas:
- Embrace lifelong learning with an online class, writing a book, learning a new instrument, or learning to paint or cook.
- Join a new social group, such as a book club, a pickleball league, or a walking group.
- Start taking better care of your physical health with daily exercise or improving your diet.
One opportunity for a new beginning that many seek out in their later years is changing their living situation. The large house you raised children in for years no longer makes sense for just you and your spouse. You may have always dreamed of moving somewhere warmer or might want to relocate to an area somewhere closer to where your family has resettled. Many seek the chance to join 50+ living communities to stay active and social with others their age.
No matter what change suits you best, don’t add the burden of trying to navigate a move on your own. Our Caring Transitions senior relocation experts can handle any downsize, move, clean-out, and more, within Central Beaverton, Northern Beaverton/Aloha, Southwest Beaverton, Aloha, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, Tigard, Western Aloha, with an individualized plan that honors your belongings and handles all the physical labor.
Even more importantly, it will set you or your loved one up for “day one living.” Instead of having to spend weeks and months unpacking and resettling into your new home, your Caring Transitions team will put everything exactly how you want it, so when you wake up on the first day of your move, you are ready to start living the new life of your dreams.
“This time of life is about the embracing of what’s next,” Carrie Coumbs, Caring Transitions Senior Strategic Advisor said. “The ‘day one living’ experience is what's going to launch you into tomorrow, fully embracing this opportunity as best as you can. When Caring Transitions packs up your home, and diligently puts it back together piece by piece in your new community, it's as if someone has taken your home of 30 years and just replaced it in this new experience.”
Lisa Rizzo, 57, saw firsthand how a downsize led by Caring Transitions set her parents up for success in their new community.
“They unpacked every drawer, they put everything in all their dressers for them, they unpacked the entire bathroom, kitchen, everything,” Rizzo said. “My parents moved in, and they were ready to get into bed and not have to go, ‘Oh, look at all these boxes.’ Meanwhile, I saw their neighbor’s home, which was filled with unpacked boxes still sitting in their living room from their move nine months ago.”
The time for a new beginning of any kind is not years ago, or even tomorrow. It is today. It is never too late to live the life of your dreams, in the place of your dreams. Think of where you want to go and then take the first step.