Aging: Stay Curious - Jill Perla

Jill Perla is staying curious with herself even at the age of 55. She believes that you should have grace for yourself and realize that new things are coming. There’s fear around the new chapter and there’s shame in not knowing what your next steps are. Things are shifting, and she’s allowing room for that, but there’s also fear there, and possibility at the same time. She wants people to stay creative and keep an open mind, even as they age. Sometimes we resist things that we should be embracing

Jill has been professionally painting for 12 years. When she was younger, she would look at people who were 55 and think, “they’re so old!” But now that she’s 55 herself, she’s realizing that this age is not that old and that there’s a lot of time to still do the things she wants to do.

She learns a lot about herself through her painting. “Creative Kickstart” is a group that she leads where she teaches people how to do the thing that reconnects you with yourself. For her, it was painting, but for others it could be writing, or hiking, or anything else, really.

Growing up, hobbies seemed something that was just silly to her. Now, she sees them as a lifeline. Hobbies can charge you up and bring you joy.

Jill encourages us to “never stop learning” and to “stay curious.” We need to always be looking for those hobbies that get discouraged in adulthood for some reason. When you stay curious, conversations are better and life is better. If we can be curious in life, people are much friendlier and the world can be a better place.

As we age, we tend to find roadblocks to the things that interest us. The more we try, embrace ourselves, and have grace for ourselves, the more we will find. There’s a fear of failure that we push our children through as kids that we don’t push ourselves through as adults. The older we get, the harder it is to push through that.

What are ways we can engage our brains as we get older? For Jill, it’s finding ways to engage. Any time we get an opportunity to use the opposite side of the brain we’re used to using, it’s going to help. Take chances and don’t feel silly when you do. You can ask for help no matter what your age is. Nobody knows everything, so ask for help.

Don’t feel guilty for fulfilling yourself because you’re going to be more able to fill others when you’re fulfilled.

You can find more about Jill Perla at:

jillperlaart.com

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