Hello and Good Day …. hope the days are treating You well -and- You are making the most of each of your days!
Thanks for stopping by ‘Terry’s Thoughts’ and I appreciate your time as I know You have plenty of options when searching for material to check out! I hope You find my thoughts worth a little something to consider -and- offers some value to You!
First, Memorial Day Holiday weekend is quickly approaching so please take a moment to pause on Memorial Day and remember the true essence of this Holiday; the sacred day of remembrance dedicated to honoring the brave Military Persons who made the ultimate sacrifice -and- preserving the memory of those who died protecting our American freedoms!
Now, on to today’s ‘Terry’s Thoughts.’
I think I have referenced this line from a Mary Olivery poem; ‘The Summer Day,’ in a past article.
“Tell me, what is it You plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
We only get one shot at today – only 24hrs with which to take our best effort of making the most of the day before it is gone and becomes the past.
If our happiness is dependent on accomplishing certain goals, what happens when we no longer have the structure of our (career) life to provide and define those goals?
What we need to remember most during our ‘Encore’ years is that it isn’t too early or too late to start making positive changes in our Life. Our future is always affected by what we start doing today. Yet so many of us wait around for some arbitrary date and time, like tomorrow, to take action. Don’t be one of them! Make yourself a bigger priority starting now.
In past articles, I have written about the loss of identity when we retire because we no longer have our career defining ‘who’ we are and ‘what’ we do!
We became attached to a ‘label’ during our (career) life and maybe made decisions for our professional/personal growth through the years based upon what we felt was best for the ‘label’ we attached to ourself; because that may have been who we thought we were.
Our ‘Encore’ years provide us with the opportunity to fully embrace our humanness. If You will allow yourself to relax, You will find how seamlessly we can adapt to life’s transitions — how we outgrow what we once thought we couldn’t live without, and then we fall in love with what we didn’t even know we wanted. Take this to heart. And don’t forget to pause regularly to appreciate how far you’ve come. We have been through a lot, and we’ve grown a lot too. We need to give ourself credit for the steps taken, so we can step forward again.
When we discover something that truly matters to us — we need to care enough about ourself to make room for it in our Life. And if You find that there does not appear to be enough time for what matters, stop doing things that don’t. In other words, start subtracting what isn’t working for You.
Every time we subtract negative from our Life, we make room for more positive.
Our ‘Encore’ years should be about arranging our Life to be a lot simpler. Use the time to clear the emotional and physical clutter that makes it unnecessarily complicated. Letting go of the old makes way for the new. Letting go of what isn’t working makes way for what will. I became familiar with this quote from my Son, (Justin), from one of his ‘Daily Notes’ publications; “change happens when the discomfort of not changing becomes greater than the discomfort of the change.” I would like to adjust just a bit to focus on not focusing upon the past… When the pain of holding on is worse than the pain of letting go, it’s time to let go so we can continue to grow as we experience our ‘Encore’ Life!
When we retire, we may fall into a trap of waiting around because we think we need to “find” something new or different to be passionate about, but that’s not true. The time to act accordingly is right now… So start believing you’re meant to live each day full of purpose and passion — that each and every moment be worthy of it’s own merit, and just embrace it. This time of our Life should be about spending the time with our Family, those few close Friends and circumstances that need us as much as we need them… Stop waiting! We need to use our time to enjoy what is right in front of us!
During this ‘Encore’ insist on reminding yourself that every step we continue to take matters to further define our purpose… this time it’s more for ourself!
Remember, all of these steps, circumstances and journeys will strengthen You. All of this will enable You to enjoy your success in these years ahead. All of this will make You who You should be at this time in Life. And all of this proves that You will have the strength to deal with the challenges in front of You. So keep giving yourself grace, and carry on.
So, continue stepping forward in the ‘Encore Phase‘ with enthusiasm and eagerness -and- please continue to take care of yourself, make the most of your days -and- always remember;
“Never quit searching, never settle and never give up seeking your greater purpose!“
Terry's Thoughts 
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