Starting over, in any circumstance and at any age, can bring up feelings of intense anger and fear. Leaving familiarity and comfort behind, life can force us to not only make changes, but to start from scratch after years of building. Just the thought of starting over can drain us. For many, we get stuck in the negative feelings before the work begins. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A simple mind shift can make all the difference. Regardless of the seeming severity of the situation, we always have the choice to see “starting over” as an opportunity to reinvent. Whether it’s ourselves, our thinking, our life, or everything all at once, it’s never too late to reinvent ourselves. And we are not alone. Everyday life creates stories of people who reinvent themselves, end up thriving, and in doing so make the path a little easier to walk on for the rest of us.
Hilda’s Story
Hilda Jaffe’s story of starting over at 88, trading her family home in New Jersey for a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Manhattan, is once such story. She is a testament to the boundless opportunities and choices available in every decade of life. Today, at 102 years old, Hilda embodies resilience, independence, and the daily joys of living fully. Her story reminds us that life can always offer new beginnings—if we’re willing to see the possibilities and make the mind shift as well as the necessary changes to reinvent ourselves.
Opportunities and Choices
How do you begin? Starting over means taking a step forward, embracing where you are in the present moment, and seeing, sometimes looking hard, for the possibilities that exist. There are things you can do to make every step along the path that much easier.
Start by reassessing your needs and desires. What you had might have been familiar and comfortable, but is it really what you wanted? Is it what will actually serve you best now and in the future?
Next, stay open to change. Making one change, big or small, is good. Staying open to change as part of your mindset and lifestyle is better.
While you’re at it, take a page from Hilda’s playbook and embrace community. Connection is a cornerstone to finding the support you need to reinvent yourself.
Lastly, stay curious. By doing so you make staying open to change that much easier. By constantly finding people, places, and things interesting, you see opportunity around every corner and in every conversation. As Hilda says, “Every day is a new day. I don’t take it for granted.”
A Recipe for Reinvention
Hilda made the choice to reinvent herself as a Manhattanite. She felt it would be for the better and she made the choice. For her, starting over later in life was about crafting a lifestyle that felt authentic and fulfilling. She didn’t choose to rewrite her story, she just started a bold new chapter. If an 88-year-old can trade suburban quiet for city lights—and thrive for 14 years and counting—imagine what you can do with your next chapter.
Curious to learn more about Hilda? Keep reading.
Do you need to start over in some aspect of your life? Could you use a little help to not only start over but to start over in the best way possible? Luckily, there’s The 100 Year LifestyleⓇ Guidebook to help you create your personal action plan for life-long change.
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