A new year starts tomorrow, have you senior citizen readers figured out yet what new ideas you are going to try this year?
I heard that! Somebody out there said, “You can't teach an old dog new tricks.” Not so. According to one successful animal trainer, that's just an old wives' tale.
He claims that all a teacher needs to do is repeat a simple lesson several times in succession and the dog will get the idea, regardless of age. The key is repetition.
What's true of animals is also true of human beings. The main reason most of us quit learning is not that we have become too old, but rather that we take ourselves out of the path of learning.
We're inclined to do this because there's the risk of failure and embarrassment when we try new ventures.
The older we get, the more we are tempted to choose the security and comfort of the unthreatening things we already know.
The start of the new year is a wonderful time for new adventures. Are you out of shape? Maybe it's time for an exercise class at the Y, or even a no-nonsense walking program.
Do you dream of travel in another country? Maybe you should enroll in a language class. Have you always wanted to paint? Why not sign up for an art class?
As senior citizens, we all have some unfulfilled desires. Perhaps they are not glamorous at all. Maybe you've been putting off clearing out the basement or attic. Maybe two hours a day during the winter months could lead to a well-organized space there where you've been specializing in clutter!
Or your overdue correspondence to the friends who need to know that you are alive and well. The cold months can provide cozy feet-up time for letter-writing.
The way to bring about some unfulfilled desires is to begin now. Author Fred Bauer says, “Every journey begins with a single step, and the best time to lace up your hiking boots is today.”
Then, too, there is something to be said for the kind of expectations we have. These are far more critical than the New year's resolutions we make. Author S.M. Kidd says, “Expectation is one of the most powerful, creative forces in the world.” The dictionary says that “expect” means to consider a thing probable or certain. When we do that deep within our minds and hearts, it has a transforming effect upon our lives.
It is based on a sound principle - an internalized expectation becomes an externalized motivation. This simply means that all the faculties of our mind -- our thinking, feeling, believing -- will create conditions that make whatever we expect a reality.
If I expect the worst, I will immobilize my abilities and set up patterns around me that produce the worst. But if I hold positive expectations, I will generate energies and potencies that will help bring them about.“
Looking ahead to the new year, the author concludes, “Stretched before us are 365 new days. With high expectations, this year may be the most wondrous yet!”
Dorothy Nelson lives and writes in Auburn
asked, “Which do you consider was your very best painting?” Without hesitation he replied, “My next one.” That painter knew about great expectations.
On the other hand, I suppose that the good old-fashioned New Year's resolution will never really be replaced. Here are some that the late columnist Erma Bombeck has made.
* Today, every single cookie left over from Christmas goes into the freezer ... both of them.
* This is it! Today I apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
* I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
* I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.
* I'm going to stop punishing my children by saying, “Never mind! I'll do it myself.”
* I will never again postdate a check to the bank to cover an overdraft and expect them to understand.
* I vow never to pick a fight with age. Gravity always wins.
* I'm going to remember that children need love the most when they deserve it the least.
If we think over some of these profound and not-so-profound observations, perhaps there will be some inkling of an idea that will help to make 2007 a simply “super year.”
Nelson lives and writes in Auburn
He claims that all a teacher needs to do is repeat a simple lesson several times in succession and the dog will get the idea, regardless of age. The key is repetition.
What's true of animals is also true of human beings. The main reason most of us quit learning is not that we have become too old, but rather that we take ourselves out of the path of learning.
We're inclined to do this because there's the risk of failure and embarrassment when we try new ventures.
The older we get, the more we are tempted to choose the security and comfort of the unthreatening things we already know.
The start of the new year is a wonderful time for new adventures. Are you out of shape? Maybe it's time for an exercise class at the Y, or even a no-nonsense walking program.
Do you dream of travel in another country? Maybe you should enroll in a language class. Have you always wanted to paint? Why not sign up for an art class?
As senior citizens, we all have some unfulfilled desires. Perhaps they are not glamorous at all. Maybe you've been putting off clearing out the basement or attic. Maybe two hours a day during the winter months could lead to a well-organized space there where you've been specializing in clutter!
Or your overdue correspondence to the friends who need to know that you are alive and well. The cold months can provide cozy feet-up time for letter-writing.
The way to bring about some unfulfilled desires is to begin now. Author Fred Bauer says, “Every journey begins with a single step, and the best time to lace up your hiking boots is today.”
Then, too, there is something to be said for the kind of expectations we have. These are far more critical than the New year's resolutions we make. Author S.M. Kidd says, “Expectation is one of the most powerful, creative forces in the world.” The dictionary says that “expect” means to consider a thing probable or certain. When we do that deep within our minds and hearts, it has a transforming effect upon our lives.
It is based on a sound principle - an internalized expectation becomes an externalized motivation. This simply means that all the faculties of our mind -- our thinking, feeling, believing -- will create conditions that make whatever we expect a reality.
If I expect the worst, I will immobilize my abilities and set up patterns around me that produce the worst. But if I hold positive expectations, I will generate energies and potencies that will help bring them about.“
Looking ahead to the new year, the author concludes, “Stretched before us are 365 new days. With high expectations, this year may be the most wondrous yet!”
Dorothy Nelson lives and writes in Auburn
asked, “Which do you consider was your very best painting?” Without hesitation he replied, “My next one.” That painter knew about great expectations.
On the other hand, I suppose that the good old-fashioned New Year's resolution will never really be replaced. Here are some that the late columnist Erma Bombeck has made.
* Today, every single cookie left over from Christmas goes into the freezer ... both of them.
* This is it! Today I apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
* I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
* I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.
* I'm going to stop punishing my children by saying, “Never mind! I'll do it myself.”
* I will never again postdate a check to the bank to cover an overdraft and expect them to understand.
* I vow never to pick a fight with age. Gravity always wins.
* I'm going to remember that children need love the most when they deserve it the least.
If we think over some of these profound and not-so-profound observations, perhaps there will be some inkling of an idea that will help to make 2007 a simply “super year.”
Nelson lives and writes in Auburn
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