Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? I sure have. I’ve heard it all my life, but it’s always bothered me and now I soundly reject it.
That phrase has been used as an excuse for people to not change. Further, it’s been an excuse given to older people, so they don’t have to care how they act. When I was younger it was used in describing those older than me and it meant, those people don’t have to change, only you do.
No.
I reject this idea.
I will never reach an age where I am no longer capable of change and therefore, others must only compensate for me. I will never reach an age where my actions are simply excused in masse because I am incapable of change.
No.
We are each responsible for our own actions…forever. It begins when we are young, and it should continue until death.
To me this is no more nonsensical than the trend of adults getting divorced then sleeping with people they aren’t married to and acting like that’s suddenly not a sin. It is a sin. What was a sin when you were young, is still a sin when you’re older. It may be or feel more inconvenient, but it’s still a sin.
Here’s what I’m noticing about growing older…
As I’ve repeatedly stated, our family made a full stop change a few years ago and we began to reorient our lives. One fruit from that has been the ability to see a bigger picture. We’ve started doing a lot of new things. Things I never had time for before, but now we do and the fact that we’ve already embraced change seems to have opened our hearts and minds up to the fact that we can still learn and begin to do new things!
Just this weekend, my kids and I did something new. As a family we recently began to make earrings from wood on our land. This Saturday we set up a booth at a festival to sell those earrings and my youngest daughter’s paintings. It was new. It was exhilarating. I couldn’t help but feel proud to lead my children into boldly becoming entrepreneurs in a new way.
For most of our marriage, Chris and I have been business owners of some sort. But back then I only saw business one way. I didn’t have a grid for making things and marketing them in social media and in direct sales. But now that we’ve broken out of the mold, we are all able to see how to do these things. And the best part is…we always do the new things together, as a whole family.
This is how you begin to build a legacy.
I no longer desire to make a name for myself. Now I see in terms of legacy. I want to build things that I can leave for my children to continue building. I want to leave them with work to do. With opportunities. With ideas to implement.
Legacy.
It’s built one moment at a time…but with generations on our mind.
And it all starts with being willing to try new things. It requires not getting stuck in your ways, rather embracing new ideas and new concepts and always being willing to change.
Today I challenge you to try one new thing. Make it something small. It will undoubtedly have a larger impact over time. Take one small step into something new. Change your routine in one small way. Challenge your mind to see something from a different vantage point. I promise it will be worth it.
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
365 Days in the Presence 