Identity Conflict

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.

– Jimmy Dean

Aging in Place

You have always considered yourself an independent person, self-reliant and capable. This self-concept you have easily embodied throughout your life, shows in the way you carry yourself, it’s in your walk, your talk, your eye contact, your way of being in the world–and you have no plans of changing anytime soon.

Gerontologists (those who study aging) have a term for your being-ness, they call it “Continuity of Self.” Aspects of the self that are consistent throughout life and are strong forms of meaning-making and identity. These aspects that don’t change, hold firm, and persist throughout the life course, are your way of doing you.

That self-assured swagger of an independent life unchallenged will soon be tested in the coming years when the check-engine light comes on and what seemed unnecessary or unthinkable, becomes your reality. This biographical break can be a turning point to interdependence–given you capitulate to a new way of being in the world.

You’re still becoming…