Turning Words into Action

Suit the action to the word,
the word to the action….

William Shakespeare
Hamlet [1600-1601]

Having said that, it may seem paradoxical that we are now offering you more advice, advice we hope that you will follow. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to improve your ability to follow advice and, most important, profit from it. The first step is easy: find a suggestion offered in the pages of this Web site that sounds particularly suited for you, perhaps one that you have already thought about trying. Then pick a day or time of day to follow the suggestion. Talk to yourself about what you are going to do. It even helps to mark the specific start day on your calendar. But start with a very small and easily followed suggestion. Then observe the results. Was it easy enough to do? Do you feel better as a result? Are you pleased that you were able to do what you said you were going to do? (As you may have discovered, an important source of satisfaction comes from doing what you say you are going to do.)

As you read through the various suggestions offered, note that many are meant to relieve discomfort and minimize the mild (and sometimes major) annoyances of everyday life–the things that lead to bad moods, anger, or sadness. Thus, if you find even one suggestion that seems especially fitting for you, try it. For in doing so, you may experience results that make you feel better. It is this effect–feeling better–that makes it more likely that: 1) you will want to do it again, and 2) you will be inclined to try yet another suggestion for a different problem. If you try all of the suggestions that are offered here that are relevant to your life, you may find that you are not only enjoying your life more, but that you are enjoying managing your life as well. For you see, managing your life is the key to adjusting to the imperfections of aging.

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