Ability to endure change – age related?

Interesting question. I've been wondering lately about the relationships between survival and mental flexibility.

I'll be back.

Re: Ability to endure change - age related?


IMO, it is more situational than anything else. If things are good and the person is comfortable with the status quo then what does change do for them?

Any/all change brings stress (good or bad stress). If a person is already at a saturation point then any additional stress will be unwelcome. Generally, I think you have to demonstrate the the stress casued by change will result in a net loss of stress to the person overall to get them to buy into the change.

Also, some people like to think that "change" = "progress" but that isn't always the case. Change can just as easily be regression.

The only thing that doesn't change is that everything changes.

This could be very dependent on time of life, but my quick generalization is that ability to accept/go for change is personal to the individual, even within family structure (e.g., siblings).

Maybe it is both...personality plays a huge part in folks ability to handle change. I hate change. I like to know what to expect and yet - I still deal better with it than my Grandfather - who did the same thing every day of his life after retirement. And when we had to move him to our house because of alzheimers - even though he was mostly aware of things initially - he was so unhappy. But he had a schedule he had adhered to every day for 15 years. Hard to change old habits. I guess the older you are the longer you have had to do or live or participate in life and when change happens - it is just harder. Now...I am not logical...so this may not make a bit of sense...but it seems to - to me anyway.

Re: Ability to endure change - age related?


Indirectly. I like fishin's answer & agree.

The bottom line answer has to do with personal choice though.

There are some people who love change, and others who embrace certainty. Saying that, I would suspect, from what I have seen, that as they age, people tend to want less change, although the starting point varies from person to person.

In other words, If you are an adventurer in your 20s, you will probably still be an adventurer in your 70s, although you will probably not be as adventurous in your 70s as you were in your 20s.

If you are uncomfortable with change when you were young, I think that it is not likely that you will seek it it when you are older, although I have heard of numerous exceptions.

In addition to personality differences, infirmities of age tend to slow some people down. They don't have the physical wherewithal to embark on new adventures.

People who retire at age 65+ often have a hard time deciding what to do now that they don't have to go to work. The schedule they had for 40 years is now broken and at a time of life when people tend to adapt very slowly.

Miller- You obviously have not had much knowledge of retirement towns. Where I live, there are people who golf, play tennis, go on cruises, take college courses, and volunteer in every imaginable capacity.

I think that those people who had a deep self identification with, and defined themselves by their work that have the hardest time in retirement. Others relish the ability to do just what they damn please!

If an adult has devoted most of his/her life to his/her profession, when they retire, they'll have a very hard time adjusting.

You see this often in medicine. If you've read Robin Cook's book, Crisis, you can easily see how the medical field can ruin a person's personality.

Miller- I don't think that it is a matter of "devoting" one's life. I think it has more to do with hanging your entire sense of worth based on what you did for a living. When that is gone, and a person has nothing to replace it, that is where a person often gets into trouble.

There are former doctors in my area who run health related clubs. Retired accountants assist members of the community with their taxes. There is a mental health coalition that is made up of retired psychologists, counselors and social workers. They run workshops and groups around areas of mental health. There is a volunteer emergency squad who run ambulances in the community, and assist the county EMS staff. There are many retired teachers who "sub" in local schools, not necessarily for the money.

I could go on and on.

I have several college classmates who have devoted a full year of pre-retirement exploring their options. All of them admit that their jobs and the responsibilities of their jobs were important to their self image.

Personally, the more control I have over change, the more I embrace that change. Conversely, if I'm not in charge, I'm not a particularly joyous and curious camper.

I've moved 20 times as an adult. I loathe and despise moving, but I've learned to be very good at moving. Give me a stack of cardboard boxes--or the opportunity to forage for them--two weeks and a magic marker and I can be unpacked and organized within a week.

Of course, with my sense of direction learning the neighborhood is much more difficult, but I have a safe haven while I'm learning.

Death, accidents and the necessities of other people's lives have all created change beyond my control. My mother told me there would be days like that. My mother told me,

"You must play the cards you're dealt."
"What can't be cured, must be endured.
"'Take what you want,' says God. 'Then pay.'"
"Do your best. Angels can do no more."


Does anyone else remember Alan Teffler, Future Shock?

http://www.amazon.com/Future-Shock-Alvin-Toffler/dp/0553277375/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-5805506-0965726?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187964444&sr=1-2

We're on a collision course with the future and change is inevitable.

Human nature is to be a creature of habit. Seems to apply to most non-humans as well.

However, people should stop projecting this tendency towards social/political views. It's an oversimplification that almost always gets parroted by some fool who thinks he/she is clever whenever they quote Winston Churchill.