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You are never too old for a new beginning

Apr 18, 2016

There may not be too many years left for me to do all I plan to do, but I still feel life is always beginning again. My life has been full of new beginnings. Of course there has to be endings for us to have new beginnings but the beginnings are what makes life worthwhile.

I think for me as a child, in less than ideal circumstances, I would always look for new beginnings. Being a glass half full personality, it was the search for beginnings that kept me moving forward. It was vital for me to keep looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. There have been times along the way that the light flickered and threatened to extinguish, but I am relieved that something always spurred me on.

The recent interview between Madonna and Molly Meldrum gave me food for thought. Madonna claims that she always knew that she was going to be a success and always thought of herself as extraordinary. As a young person I instinctively felt that I had been given certain gifts but we were brought up to believe that it was wrong to feel such things. It was important to remain ‛humble’, so I would squash these feelings and feel guilty if they ever emerged. The total misconception of humility ensured that many of our ‘beginnings’ were somewhat tempered by the need to be vigilant about the notion of being ‛humble’.

In today’s world there seems to be more emphasis on self love and self appreciation. If we can achieve these states we become more authentic in our achievements. Believing in ourselves is the kick start we need to be effective in our new beginnings. When we can truly reach this state, we can let the ego take a back seat. The problem with having to keep proving ourselves is that it can be a hindrance to how we go about our new beginnings and our reason for doing so.

My awareness of choosing a new beginning really began at the completion of secondary school. Choosing to be a teacher was a new beginning that impacted on everything I have done since. Studying special education was a significant new beginning which sprang from my desire to assist students who did not fit the system. I was aware that I hadn’t ever really fitted any system and I believe this has helped me to be successful in this field.

Choosing a new beginning as an author has given me much joy and a feeling of accomplishment. The interesting thing is that there have been times when I have been criticised for my ideas and often doubted my intuition, only to have some of these ideas validated much later.

After many years of disillusionment with the system, I chose another new beginning in the corporate world with very mixed outcomes. My desire always is to assist others to find a modus operandi that works for them. I never expected to be still immersed in this work so many years later. It is so refreshing at the moment to be accepted into a successful national corporation at not only advanced years, but also as a female, when both of these ‘conditions’ are touted to be unfavourable.

Of course there have been new beginnings along this path where there are always new developments and things to learn. I have seen so many new advancements become old and discarded, only to resurface in another form.

Recently some of my old ‛new beginnings’ have become new again and I am revelling in their resurgence. In 1998 Oxford University Press published a set of my spelling books which were not particularly well produced. Very soon TEEC Australia will launch an online program called Karaoke Fun Class which I have developed in conjunction with others, based on those spelling books. It has reinforced my belief to never give up on a dream – even when it appears that a positive outcome seems unlikely.

Also I am off to America in May where I will be speaking as a result of the book I wrote several years ago which is being well received over there. When my lovely husband died, I thought the book may have run its course, but for some reason it has become more popular. Before his death, he urged me to keep on pursuing my dream. I really wanted to give up many times but his voice keeps ringing in my head. I have just dispatched 100 copies of the book to America where I will be speaking in May. A beautiful new beginning. Some beginnings don’t always gain the outcome that I seek but there is always some learning to be gained and I love just knowing that I am never going to run out of new beginnings.