My sister Soni educated herself about aging issues when she became the sibling in charge of my mother’s financial and legal well being. And she learned about the emotional and physical issues, along with her occupational education as a psych professor. So when the time came for her to start planning her “legacy” or, fourth, stage of life, she had a real plan. She is my little sister, but she led the way in this adventure and I have been watching her make a successful move from one career to another, one living situation to another, and preparing for the roadblocks that might occur along the way. She has always been the braver of the two of us and far and away the most adventuresome. She has given me courage to try on creative ideas for the years ahead. She says that fear can hold you back so I asked her what she does about that. “Imagining the worst possible outcome then thinking through what I would do if it happened”. She also said you have to be willing to fail and make a fool of yourself so you can’t worry too much about what others are going to say. Then she proceeded to educate herself in the new endeavor which she is beginning soon: from psych professor to mediation counselor. This new life has an element of choice in that she can take more or fewer cases depending on other factors. She is excited because she loves the work and is very good at it. She also feels she is doing something important to help others. I think that is important when choosing life activities. As least I am not interested in a retirement that means sitting on a boat drinking martinis. Not when I already know what makes me really happy: doing something I love and am good at that makes a difference. For me, fourth stage means finding a way to keep doing that in a new way that meets aging needs, and maybe even is more satisfying than my present life. |
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3 Comments
Soni
10/19/2015 03:56:59 am
Thanks sister! In addition to mediation counseling I am also learning how to coach individuals on how to handle conflicts in jobs or families ... Interested? Contact me here or on Facebook . Soni Werner
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Julia Williams Robinson
10/19/2015 05:45:26 am
Soni
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Soni
10/19/2015 08:11:58 am
Julia, I will respond in a facebook private message. Soni Leave a Reply. |
Wendy Soneson
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