Today
Afraid to Get Prepared?
by Jill Fallon
Posted August 25, 2005 8:01 AM
Posted August 25, 2005 8:01 AM
Posted in
Why are we afraid so much of the time? After all, didn’t President Roosevelt say, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” ” Yet, there’s not one of us who hasn’t been crippled with fear at some point for too long a time.
Pema Chodron wrote, “All that we crave in life --beauty, youth, security, energy, power - -is out of our control; all that we fear - loss, decay, illness, aging, death -- will come to pass. This is not bad news, it’s important news.”
It’s important news because we can prepare for it. If you’re prepared, you’re confident. Many wise men and women have said the future belongs to those who prepare for it. When a crisis comes, you’ll have the upper hand. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.”
"Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Robert Baden-Powell, the Founder of the Boy Scouts.
"Why, for any old thing," he replied.
Baden Powell's idea was to prepare boys to handle emergencies and to prepare them for life. He wanted his Scouts to be prepared body and mind for any struggle, and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges might lie ahead.
He understood that knowing you had done your best enabled you to live more happily and without regret.
That’s one of the principal reasons why I believe taking care of the your Business of Life is essential for your peace of mind and your family’s.
But I’d like to know what you think.
Why are we so afraid?
What keeps us from doing what we know we should do?
Is it because we don’t know what we’re supposed to do?
It it because everything’s so complicated, you don’t know where to start?
Is it because you don’t know when is the right time or you’re waiting for something to happen?
Is it because you don’t know who to ask or who you want?
What are your stumbling blocks?
What would make it easier for you?
What you think is the best motivation to get prepared?
Since I'm developing a product to help people deal with the business of their lives more easily and conveniently, your thoughts on those issues which touch our deep fears will be most valuable and gratefully received.
Comments
Have something to say? Share your thoughts.
Posted September 8, 2005 11:57 AM
why do I care? Because the world is youth oriented and I live in it. I am in a field that rewards youth and good looks. I am sick and tired of hearing people who can and should hire me say "wow, you remind me of my MOM" --and they don't want to work with their mom at the next desk.
Posted September 7, 2005 11:54 PM
Wow! You sure have been through a lot in the past few years. I think a steady number of years of grief can add years to our looks. Not until we get into a new phase when we're excited and enthusiastic about life again, do we get our looks back. Older faces, especially old faces, can be especially beautiful. It's the light that shines out when eyes twinkle and mouths smile and laugh.
It's all in the attitude and what we expect. I wrote in the past that Our Fears of Aging Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies http://www.estatevaults.com/lm/archives/000171.html.
As for what other people think, why do you still care?
My favorite quote from Agatha Christie
As life goes on it becomes tiring to keep up the character you invented for yourself, and so you relapse into individuality and become more like yourself every day. This is sometimes disconcerting for those around you, but a great relief to the person concerned.
Posted September 7, 2005 9:59 PM
I never realized it, but at age 51, I am actually starting to be conscious, if not worried or scared, about aging. On my blog this morning http://www.advicesisters.net/advicesistersblog I posted "Humiliating Experience of the Morning #1" in which I describe an incident that took place yesterday,and that upset me a great deal. With regard to the post here, I can only say that I am NOT prepared to deal with people's perceptions of who I am (or who I am NOT) as a middle-aged woman. I am fearful that I will become invisible, especially to the much larger population of young people who see women like me only as moms or grandmothers, or some "old woman." Why should I care? How do I handle it?
I'm really not sure, and I give advice for a living (wan smile)
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