Do something and see where it leads
If your life has followed an expected path, maybe with a few ups and downs, or you’re not a fan of unexpected detours, moving into a very different stage of life can be scary.
Retirement is uncertain. An unknown. And that can make us afraid, stuck, and limit what we do with our lives.
But in doing things, everyday things or new things, we give ourselves the option and potential for something more to happen.
Here are 3 examples of when doing something, with no further expectation of outcome, led to positive experiences and life change for me.
From a Tai Chi class to a flat share
Group exercise classes are not my natural habitat. But when I needed to do something to de-stress and move more, I pushed myself to find a local tai chi class.
What I wasn’t expecting was to make friends with another participant who lived on the same street as me. At that time my rental contract was ending, and they had a room for rent.
I moved in for 2 years and we’ve been friends for 20 more.
From a coffee catch up to a freelance job
Every couple of months I would meet up with a friend for a coffee catch up. I didn’t love that it was at 8am, but I wanted to see them, so I went.
Catching up on the previous few months, it happened to come up that in my friend changing their role at work, a new role was being created.
It wasn’t a role I’d specifically done before, but my skillset matched. At that time, I had been about to start looking for a part-time job, with no idea of what or where yet.
I applied for the job, got it, and it gave me an outlet for a part of me I hadn’t realised I needed, as well as money to pay the bills.
From a one-off workshop to finding my flow
Travelling in Australia, when we passed through Byron Bay, my friend wanted to do a massage workshop there.
I wasn’t interested. But in the balance of our travels, we’d done things I wanted to do too. It was a couple of hours, affordable to a backpacker, and there was the promise of chocolate cake.
I didn’t expect to find myself in a state of flow I had never imagined possible. Five years later, I trained and qualified as a massage therapist and was able to do meaningful work to support people in their wellbeing.
Do something and see where it leads.
The outcome may be something that changes your life for the better.
And if not, you did something, maybe you enjoyed it for what it was – catching up with a friend, trying a new class or skill you didn’t know anything about.
Or you can make an informed decision that Tai Chi is not for you.
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