Closing the pool has been an adventure every year. Today I discovered the diameter of the drain on the new sand filter was much larger than the old one. The standard hose I usually put on it was not going to cut it. Off to our local do-it-yourself store!
Once I got there and got someone to help me, I realized this was not going to be an easy fix. We were going to have to rig it. I had presented the store guy with a ‘problem’.
Problems energize people. Before we had put together a ‘fix’ we thought would actually work my little problem had engaged three of the store guys for over 15 minutes. They were scurrying back and forth, consulting on all sorts of possible solutions.
If the problem-solving process had gone on any longer, I bet I could have netted two or three more helpers. They acted like it was the most fun they had had all day!
Got me thinking. Got me thinking about part of the reason I am not interested in retiring. I thrive on the challenge.
Many people say they long for the easy life. I sometimes wonder what they would do if they got their wish …day after day after day. Shudder!
The blog Get Busy Living agrees with me. The author points out we all started out attacking challenges. However, he (she?) says as we have gotten older we have lost our sense of fearlessness. We have abandoned the struggle in favor of lives that are ‘safe’ and ‘secure’. No problem. No risks. No fun.
In patheos.com’s blog entitled The Value of Challenge they talk about the sense of satisfaction and purpose we get when we tackle challenges. Challenges bring richness to our world. Much better than spending all day telling people plumbing supplies are in aisle 40. Ask the guys at the do-it-yourself yourself store!
How can we maintain challenge and accomplishment in our lives now that we are older and have a vision loss? Looking at the more professional literature I discovered Hans-Werner Wahl in Heidelberg wrote about the psychological challenges of late-life visual impairment. Wahl quoted research on secondary control strategies, disengaging from no longer attainable goals, and accommodative mode. Accommodative mode is finding something that can be done rather than giving up.
I won’t be able to work in the school forever, but maybe I can do more counseling at the office. I cannot drive myself anymore but I am planning on doing more bus trips. Both examples of ‘accommodative mode’ will provide me with new experiences and challenges.
How can you disengage from old goals and substitute things you are capable of doing? Listen to books on things you have never explored before? Learn how to use new technology for low vision? Cook foods from different ethnic groups? Read this blog? …I know; don’t be silly!?
I was always told that when God closes a door, He opens a window. And yes, sometimes it is an attic window three stories up. But just think of the stories you will have to tell after finding a way through that window!
Enjoy the challenge!
written September 4th, 2017
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