The 100 Years Club Installment #47: Four Weeks Wiser

Exactly four weeks ago, I boarded a plane to NY (Newark, actually).

During those 28 days, I:

1. Moderated two conference sessions at a business gathering. Wrote 11 more articles for the publication. (My creative juices flow when I’m on the road.)
2. Held my new granddaughter (who’s now about a month old) and wrote an e-book on Canva with my other two grandkiddos. I hung out with my daughters and their extended families. No matter how much I love my work, family time is rare and special!
3. Worked from six different spaces/hotels as I traveled around the East Coast.
4. Shopped at Wegmans, which is always delightful. They know how to do food AND customer service.
5. Read a book. I confess…it was chick-lit, but turning paper pages is still a treat.
6. As long as we’re talking about pop culture…I watched The Golden Bachelor finale and got great engagement on my article about it.  My content about aging seems to be catching on, and I also launched new podcast episodes of The Geezer-Proofer each week and recorded a new one remotely.
7. Was the victim of a banking scam. It turned out OK, but I’m a lot wiser now and know more about cybersecurity than ever. It was a sucky way to learn, however.
8. Saw NYC in all its pre-holiday glitter. Also saw one of my fave bands in concert in East Hampton. 60+ rockers are having a moment!
9. Caught up with several old friends and colleagues, reinforcing that I’ll always be an East coaster at heart.
10. Met live with one of my collaborators from RacquetX. (By the way, you should check it out; it’s a shameless plug for one of my fave clients!) This project that I worked on for LT was published, and I started working on the next one. I realized that I’m FINALLY at a point in my life when I’m doing what I love — writing interesting and fun content for interesting and fun (and smart and kind) people. I also have two cool volunteer projects underway, but you’ll have to wait for a future edition for details because I usually stop my writing at 1,000 words. (I’ve learned that most people don’t like reading these days.)
11. Gave thanks (because, after all, Thanksgiving fell into this timeframe).

Travel is always good for the soul and reminds me how resilient we can still be (which can be so important to all of us as we age).

New experiences can keep us curious and active (especially as we lug our suitcases through airports and in and out of hotels…I hope I burned off at least some of the French fries and gluten-free bagels I consumed).

You’ll notice that each of those 11 points above began with a verb.

Look at your own life this holiday season and make a little list (check it twice, if you’re so inclined — you can be either naughty or nice — unlike Santa, I don’t judge).

But the most important verb of all is LEARNED.

Even moments of calm and fun can lead to sparking your brain matter. For example, every day, you can gain:

• A new perspective on an old issue (but you must listen to different ideas).
• Insights into what your body and brain are capable of these days.
• Clarity on who you really want to have in your life.
• Realizations of what “things” are vital. (Downsizing our “stuff” at this stage is especially important.)

When I reflect on the other 337 days of 2023 and the 28 days that remain, I’m determined to do a thing or two and learn a thing or two (maybe even more).

Just as one gratitude a day can make you happier, one lesson a day can make you wiser.

And if we live to 100, that’s a whole lotta smarts!