General Information
As I prepare for retirement in a couple of months, I have received a lot good advice from friends who have already made this transition. One of my friends warned, “Don’t make lists!” Another advised against saying “Yes” to anything until I have my feet on the ground. But the best advice I have received is “Don’t let short-term worries make long-term decisions.”
As we move through the seasons of life we are tempted to allow our immediate situation to shape decisions that will stretch far into the next season. It would be like selling our Summer Clothes in June because we need the money and can get a good price for them and then having to wear Winter clothes through the rest of the Summer season.
For us, context is everything! We look at our lives in the context of the moment. We take into account our feelings, our circumstances, our perceptions, and our environment. Seasonal changes bring changes to all of these factors. By making a winter context decision that will affect the way we will live in the Summer may not be in our best interests.
Our mind has a great capacity to remember and look ahead based on past experiences. It can take into account any anticipated changes in seasons. Of course, such anticipations are not 100%. We can be fooled when the expected does not occur. Therefore, the mind must not only look ahead to the changes of seasons, it also has to allow for bad decisions based on the information we had at the time we made the decision.
Self-care of the mind during times of change in our lives demand that we hold to our future with a rather loose grip. Sometimes we will be fooled. However, we cannot let short term circumstances determine long-term outcomes. And when you do, accept the result and move on.
As we move through the seasons of life we are tempted to allow our immediate situation to shape decisions that will stretch far into the next season. It would be like selling our Summer Clothes in June because we need the money and can get a good price for them and then having to wear Winter clothes through the rest of the Summer season.
For us, context is everything! We look at our lives in the context of the moment. We take into account our feelings, our circumstances, our perceptions, and our environment. Seasonal changes bring changes to all of these factors. By making a winter context decision that will affect the way we will live in the Summer may not be in our best interests.
Our mind has a great capacity to remember and look ahead based on past experiences. It can take into account any anticipated changes in seasons. Of course, such anticipations are not 100%. We can be fooled when the expected does not occur. Therefore, the mind must not only look ahead to the changes of seasons, it also has to allow for bad decisions based on the information we had at the time we made the decision.
Self-care of the mind during times of change in our lives demand that we hold to our future with a rather loose grip. Sometimes we will be fooled. However, we cannot let short term circumstances determine long-term outcomes. And when you do, accept the result and move on.
Tip - Adaptive Thinking
Decision-making demands that we use our critical thinking skills. Unfortunately, most of us have not spent much time thinking about thinking. We assume that if we weigh the options in our head and pick the best choice, then we have thought-out our decision.
But thinking includes a vast array of mental exercises that help us see the problem, frame the question, locate the best sources for information, gather information to answer the question, come up with a tentative solution, try it out in our head, examine the consequences, reframe the question or answer, and then make our decision. When we have to add the changing seasons to our decisions, most of us would rather crawl back in bed and let someone else figure it out. (Which, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate strategy if you have someone to make the decision and you are willing to live with their choice.)
Our tip for dealing with the mind during times when the changing seasons is called adaptive thinking.
Watch Your Assumptions – Do not assume that what worked before will work again. Do not assume that you understand the problem without stepping back and looking again. Do not assume that you have a crystal ball for the future.
Allow Time to Inform your Thinking – Unless you have developed a deep capacity for intuition, allow time to shape your thinking. A great idea in the dark of night can appear to be utter foolishness with the light of day. The old advice “Sleep on it” holds true.
Listen to Others Who Have Walked your Path – Allow others to scout the future for you by sharing their experiences and discoveries. Adapt your thinking to the terrain they describe.
Select Thinking Skills that are Appropriate to the Situation – Not all thinking skills are useful in every situation. I do not have room to go into detail. I encourage you to read the links below and identify your skills and select those that will help you as you face a decision that will reach beyond your immediate moment.
Critical thinking when adapted to your present circumstances can allow you to face the future with some sense of assurance. However, allow yourself the opportunity to be wrong and to learn from your mistakes. As your life changes, you will be better able to care for a mind that will be better equipped to see and understand the new day that will dawn with the next sunrise.
But thinking includes a vast array of mental exercises that help us see the problem, frame the question, locate the best sources for information, gather information to answer the question, come up with a tentative solution, try it out in our head, examine the consequences, reframe the question or answer, and then make our decision. When we have to add the changing seasons to our decisions, most of us would rather crawl back in bed and let someone else figure it out. (Which, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate strategy if you have someone to make the decision and you are willing to live with their choice.)
Our tip for dealing with the mind during times when the changing seasons is called adaptive thinking.
Watch Your Assumptions – Do not assume that what worked before will work again. Do not assume that you understand the problem without stepping back and looking again. Do not assume that you have a crystal ball for the future.
Allow Time to Inform your Thinking – Unless you have developed a deep capacity for intuition, allow time to shape your thinking. A great idea in the dark of night can appear to be utter foolishness with the light of day. The old advice “Sleep on it” holds true.
Listen to Others Who Have Walked your Path – Allow others to scout the future for you by sharing their experiences and discoveries. Adapt your thinking to the terrain they describe.
Select Thinking Skills that are Appropriate to the Situation – Not all thinking skills are useful in every situation. I do not have room to go into detail. I encourage you to read the links below and identify your skills and select those that will help you as you face a decision that will reach beyond your immediate moment.
Critical thinking when adapted to your present circumstances can allow you to face the future with some sense of assurance. However, allow yourself the opportunity to be wrong and to learn from your mistakes. As your life changes, you will be better able to care for a mind that will be better equipped to see and understand the new day that will dawn with the next sunrise.
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