What did you most recently learn about yourself? I'd like to claim I react to these frequent late-in-life learning experiences by saying "better late than never" to myself. Instead, what I'm more inclined to say as Act Three continues to unfold is "How the hell did it take you so long to figure this out?"
Case in point: Preparing a joint speech for our daughter's recent wedding taught me three things that could have made my lifetime's creative output more rewarding and my life in general a little easier:
* Collaborating on creative endeavors usually improves the quality of an end-product.
* When collaborating, avoid writing down too much. It dawned on me as we worked together over several sessions: When I write something down, I'm heavily invested in my words. That means I'll fight to keep what I've written, even when changing my words could result in a better end-product.
* I'm a much better public speaker when I resist the temptation to improvise my remarks.
Bottom line: This old dog can learn new tricks, despite the hoary maxim claiming otherwise. And I am grateful the old dog keeps trying, steep learning curve notwithstanding.
Hello, Pat. Been a while since I've been able to post any comments, but that's a story for another day.
ReplyDeleteAs I've gotten older, and definitely as I've become more accustomed to being retired, I've begun to notice that I let fewer things bother me and don't worry as much about what others think. I care, but don't worry as much. Or at least, try not to worry as much. I'm hoping this qualifies as learning new tricks and hopeful that it is a step in the right, and better, direction. Oh, and just as a last note, unless I'm working from a prepared script, improvisation is always a risk when I'm making a speech. Something that my lovely wife will confirm - lol.
Be well,
Bob
Bob; One person commenting on five different posts in the same day will surely stand as a record for the foreseeable future; thanks for that. And I would say learning to care less about what others think falls into the category of learning new tricks, although as you say yourself, that does seem to get easier as we get older.
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