Sunday, March 7, 2010
I read in a recent article that of the 60,000 people who lived to be over 100 years old in the United States last year, the single most important characteristic they had in common was their ability to be positive in the face of change. They were able to look at things objectively, put them in perspective and move on. They didn’t try to control the uncontrollable.
Surviving, thriving and living a long happy healthy life may just depend on your ability to develop what the author called “The Adventure Attitude.”
Ever since I was a little girl, I have learned ways to make each day an adventure. My parents, and later my husband, may have wished I didn’t do so, for it often involved them. But I believe in the long run, it caused me, and those who have been in my sphere of influence, to experience that often elusive joie de vivre. I believe that having an attitude that seeks adventure, when used in a positive way, is all about taking the challenges in your life and making the choice to look at them as an adventure, and then act accordingly.
As a teacher, I always saw students as wonderful, unique, challenging clean slates on which I could write words of knowledge, encouragement and inspiration. I saw all students as wonders of God’s creation that beckoned me to accept new challenges every day. And challenges they were! I must admit that there were times when I questioned my decisions, my effect and sometimes my sanity. However, in my quest to make learning fun for both my students and me, I can say my heart and motives were pure and I was always open to change, every day, every new school year.
For all of us in any profession, I believe life is all about seeking solutions, trying new things, seeking new adventure, and expanding one’s life. The adventure attitude allows us to go beyond what we could ever dream. We can choose to overcome our personal obstacles with a positive attitude, energy and creativity. It allows us to see possibilities in the impossible, find solutions to problems, and send us in a new direction.
The hardest part of this philosophy is being positive in the face of the negative. Not to be cliché but we can choose to see our glass half empty or half full. We can look at setbacks with a sense of wonder instead of a sense of scorn and try to see where the new path will lead us. As the relative of a cancer survivor, I watched in amazement as she told her story to others and encouraged hundreds along the way - not when she was healed, but while she was still undergoing treatment herself.
In teaching, I found my students always wanted to know how the novel would end instead of enjoying the excitement of each chapter. Don’t we tend to do the same? We must learn to focus on living in the moment instead of being lost in the past or anxious about the future. If we learn to live in the now, we begin to notice all the small things we encounter along the way. If we slow down and appreciate each moment, each moment has more meaning. It allows us to live life to the fullest. The more we learn, the more we seek to learn. The world opens up when we are learning. Curiosity that leads to new learning awakens the passion in our lives.
Stretching yourself out of the comfort zone mentally and physically makes the comfort zone that much larger and allows you to stretch even more. The world outside the comfort zone is a world of immense possibilities that opens little by little as you challenge your personal boundaries.
As I sought out “teachable moments” in the classroom, I often tried to place myself in the desks of my students. I still force myself to begin looking at life much like a child looks at it. As a child reaches for something he wants, he is excited and positive; rarely discouraged by defeat. He is flexible enough to change focus and he sees possibilities in every direction. His options are open. He isn’t afraid to make mistakes or concerned about pleasing someone else. The light in his eyes and energy in his step tell it all. Life is a fun game, and anything in his path can become part of it.
I also learned I had to trust, even when I had reason from past experiences NOT to trust. I had faith that I would get the support that I needed when I needed it. And I did. Sometimes it was from friends, sometimes from family, and always from God. All you have to do is trust, let go of control, and ask for help when you need it. The result of living with an attitude of expectation, an attitude of adventure, is personal balance, a sense of joy and a life that sees each day as a new possibility.
So if you want to live to be a happy 100-year-old, the “science of happiness” seems to teach us several commonalities: awaken each morning, no matter how many aches and pains, no matter what the circumstances, with a sense of expectation; live a life of balance; give and receive from family and friends, and live a life of faith with childlike joy!
Dr. Debra Peppers, a professional speaker for 25 years, is one of only five inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame upon her retirement from Lindbergh High School. A member of the National Speakers Association, she has traveled to all 50 states and 60 countries teaching others that if she can go from being a 250-pound high school dropout, to Teacher of the Year there is hope for every child and adult. Her web site is www.pepperseed.org.
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