by Becky Morris
continued from August 5, 2009
By the 7th hole, Aunt Beck was kicking our collective butts. The other two women and me were just watching wide-eyed and open-mouthed at her steady approach to the tee box and the ever-so-accurate putts. We were shaking our heads in amazement and by this time we were just making fun of ourselves due to frustration.
As she walked up to tee off, we were having our own private conversation about how we hope to be playing as well as she was at the age of 60, not even contemplating the possibility of playing at 90. Evidently Aunt Beck’s hearing is as accurate as her golf game because right before she hit the ball she stated, “Oh to be 60 again!”
When the three of us heard this we needed to find the nearest port-a-potty because our laughter was out of control. Here we are in our late 40’s early 50’s, worrying about such important things as wrinkle control, menopause, issues at work, kids, grandkids, retirement and everything else under the sun and this woman was just thinking about going back to a place we hadn’t even reached. I can honestly say I never thought I would hear someone make such a statement.
How refreshing to hear someone who has lived for so long who wants 30 more years!
Living at The Intersection of Purpose and Now
At a quarterly gathering last week, our friend and colleague Chris Sopa gave a keynote about relieving stress. One of Chris’ key points was to live in the now. We often spend too much valuable time worrying about all of the “what-ifs” and “could haves” that either might happen in the future or did not happen in the past. She said if we could just stay in the present and focus on the task at hand, how much easier and enjoyable our lives would be.
I am going to borrow an exercise that Chris had us do:
- Find a piece of paper, sticky note or 3” x 5” card.
- Across the top write “Don’t believe everything you think”
- Now write down some limiting thought you may have, i.e. “I will never have enough money to afford (an item that you have always dreamed of having) or I will never be able to lose _____ lbs.”
- Now turn that around into a positive statement, such as: “People find the money for the things they really want” or “I can lose 2 lbs per week.”
It’s all about our attitudes, understanding our priorities, turning the negatives into positives, facing the challenges head-on, identifying our limiting obstacles – but instead of being defeated, we find all of the possible solutions. How often do you write down the benefits of achieving your goals and then affirm yourself into knowing you can do it?
I never thought I would want to live to 90, but after meeting Aunt Beck it has changed my perspective. The ironic part of all of this is, she was only playing a game she loves and having a casual conversation with an inquisitive partner. Even if I try to tell her, I doubt she will ever fully understand the impact she has had on my life.
And that is often how it is when we meet people at The Intersection of Purpose and Now. Once again, Thank you, Aunt Beck!
Intersection of Purpose and Now 