With everything new, comes a learning curve. You venture out into the
unknown and WHAM! You come smack up against something that you haven't
yet figured out and end up in some sort of a whirlwind.
The
key to keeping your cool is to get assistance from someone who has
experience. It could be from a book, an Internet search, or a
conversation with a live person.
What unknown have you ventured into lately?
How have you handled your learning curve?
Each
time in my life that I have started a business, that learning curve has
been right there. It's not one of my favorite things, but I know that
once I get beyond it and all that new "stuff" becomes familiar, I'll be
looking for some new challenge with yet another learning curve! That may
seem silly to some people. Why not just sit and enjoy the comfort zone?
To
me, comfort zones get really boring after a few days. I'm not one of
those people who can sit around and watch TV. In fact, I haven't been a
TV watcher for decades. There is too much going on in my world for that.
There
is no substitute for tapping into someone else's experience and
expertise to help you get through a learning curve. When I'm feeling
lost, I think of who I know that is good at that particular thing and
arrange a meeting. If that is not possible because they are famous or no
longer among the living, I read their books or books about them.
This
is why I decided to write my book "OMG! My Parents are Getting OLD!"
which is scheduled for release in December 2010. Actually, the book is a
perfect example of tapping into the experience and expertise of others.
I have brought together close to 100 people, both lay people and
professionals to assist in the writing of this book and share the
nuances in helping adult children deal with the issues of caring for
aging parents.
"OMG! My Parents are Getting OLD!" is a book that
needs to be in every household because most of us don't know much about
what to expect, what to do, or how to head off the frustrations when we
down that dreaded, unknown path with aging parents. For me, it was like
being dropped in a black hole with a paper bag over my head. I know that
sounds a bit extreme, but that's what it felt like to me.
When it
was over and I had dug my way out, I knew I wanted to help others avoid
that pain as much as possible. If you're a positive and resourceful
person like me, you figure that you can handle it, no worries... until
it happens to you. And that's the worst because it catches you totally
off guard and unprepared. If your parents are "getting old" and still in
great shape, now is the time to read that book together and discuss
many of the topics you'll find.
Believe me, they have no idea what
you will be up against either. They figure everything will be fine and
in most cases, that is very far from the truth. Your parents love you
and don't want you to suffer, especially on their account.
If
you're currently in the middle of that whirlwind, this book will be like
having a friend-in-the-know put their arm around your shoulder and tell
you how stop the chaos.
