Cranky Old Women.....

I have often heard it said that old women are cranky, cantankerous and selfish.

As I approach this designation I realize this is an unfair over generalization.

When we are born, we are these sweet, malleable creatures.


We are taught that we are born to please. In order to be considered "good" we must be "people pleasers". It starts with our parents, then moves on to our teachers, our boyfriends, our husbands, our children, our employers.
Essentially it never ends.
Unless YOU make it end!

I am not advocating abdicating your current life, but there comes a point in almost every woman's life when she goes. "When is it MY TURN? When do I get to please myself?"

Believe me, unless you get firm and emphatic about what you want...it will NEVER happen.
You need stop, take a breath, and reevaluate your life.
What do you want the final chapters of your life to consist of?

One of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever received was this;

The thing you should be doing in life,
is the thing you would do even if no one paid you to do it!

There are no truer words. What is your passion? What excites you?
You need to figure that out and work it into your life...NOW.

I have come to realize that there were many. many things that I was doing not because I wanted to do them, but because "somebody else" wanted me to do them. My feelings about the matter were never taken into consideration.

As you make changes in your life I guarantee there will be people who will talk about you badly.


They will say that you have "changed", that you are "selfish."

But maybe we need to take another look at that word. Maybe being selfish is exactly what we need. We need to take care of ourselves at this point in time. If you don't take care of yourself, nobody else will!

Like everyone else, I am a "work in progress".

I have studied myself and found the things I enjoy.

I enjoy my family.
I enjoy communicating with people.
I enjoy my club.
I enjoy my job.
I enjoy writing.
I enjoy travel.
I enjoy Vegas.
I enjoy my website.

I am going to do my best to keep all the balls in the air for as long as I can and not allow anyone to take away one of the things I love because they don't see the value of it.
I am not going down without a fight!

BRAVO!

You go girl! k

We were always told "what will people think". One day I realized that pleasing others is not as important as pleasing myself and why should I care what other people think. You are right on with your commentary.

Great post

Treegirl would be one of those bitches!

OMG I so love your post!!!

The year I turned 40, it was like I suddenly hit myself in the head (like in the I should have had a V-8 commercial) and realized, I had spent my life trying to please EVERYBODY. Now anyone with 1/2 a brain knows that this is impossible - you just cannot please EVERYBODY, but I tried. And failed.

And then I suddenly realized, it is all in my hands. I can please me! It was that year that I stopped trying to please everyone else, and just worried about pleasing me. There is a reason that the flight attendants tell you in an emergency - you put on your oxygen mask first - you cannot save anyone if you are dead. It is the same premises............you cannot please people when you are miserable all the time. I let it all go, and it was fabulous, the world did not end, people were all the same, the only thing that changed was it was no longer "my job" to please everyone.

bottom line is: It pleases me to make people smile, to do things for others, to help make someone's day a little brighter. I don't do anything to get people to like me, or to thank me, or to whatever, I do what I like that pleases me. My world is certainly better for it.

You only get one chance in this lifetime, make the most of it. My tagline says what I truly believe: you can always get more money, you cannot get more time, use it wisely.

Thanks for listening.

I love that you all love my post.
Sometimes it takes a while....but we all come to this realization sooner or later.

I totally disagree !
(Sorry, have to go...my husband wants me to make him a sandwich)

Ha!