This man is sitting comfortably in his forever home as he pursues activities important to him and enjoys his surroundings as he seems to be committed to remaining in his home of choice long-term.
Many things in life require education
From the earliest age we can remember being taught how to perform various activities. Let’s face it, at a very young age, most everything was new to us. unless it was intuitive, we had to learn how to do it – on our own through trial and error or with help from older siblings, parents, neighbors, teachers, or coaches, depending on the skill or activity we wanted to accomplish.
We were born fully programmed to perform many of the intricacies of life. We had to learn them on our own or be taught how to do them. This was not a major failing on our part. It’s just the way things are. As we got older and undertook more complex activities, we often needed coaching in the finer points of those areas as well.
Honing our skills
Even if we seemed to exhibit a natural talent for writing, drawing, creating, performing music, or playing athletics, most of us still required some education in the finer points of those activities. To utilize our innate skills and become much better at what we wanted to do, he required some counsel, coaching, or training.
Most of us could not have graduated from high school before entering elementary school. it took years of acquired knowledge and education, and a natural maturity that comes with more years, to reach that point – not that we didn’t have the ability to learn and apply ourselves at that earlier time. It just took an accumulation of data over the years.
Accepting training is no admission of weakness
While most of us require some degree of training and education for most of the activities we undertake (for example learning how to drive and getting how are driver’s license), this training does not imply any inherent weakness on our part. We don’t come, at birth, preprogrammed to perform many of life’s skills and activities, although many of us exhibit an advanced inclination in some areas.
Being coachable is a highly regarded skill that employers look for in new hires. Recognizing that we don’t have all the answers and that we need to learn from someone more knowledgeable and experienced than us is a very mature outlook.
Not knowing how to do something that we could not have had any advanced knowledge of is no serious shortcoming on our part. We just need to find a resource that can teach us or from which we can learn.
We are not taught how to age in place
Aging in place is not a skill or activity that we learn as much as it is something to be experienced. No one can teach us how to age in place because this is an individual pursuit. We can learn how to be safe and how to make our homes more accessible and accommodating for our needs but not necessarily what features or devices we should have and how to use them because needs are individual.
While there are some generally accepted features in a home – doorways, lighting, flooring, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms, for instance – there largely is no specific training on how to select such items if we are replacing them or starting over or on how to use what we have or will acquire.
No schooling on selecting the right home
Some people will select a home at a very early age that will continue to work for them throughout the years. Others we’ll live in a series of homes and locations. wow there are many opinions as to what constitutes a successful home for remaining in it long term, no one can make that determination for another person.
Since aging in place is personal and individual, a home that someone selects to occupy long-term is solely within their discretion. We might have recommendations and counsel for them, but it’s their decision. To the extent that they like it, that it works for them, that it serves their needs as well or better than any other home they might imagine, and that they are willing to remain in that home indefinitely means that this is their long-term, forever, permanent, or aging in place home.
We can help them with the finer points of using their home well and eliminating barriers or safety concerns, but it’s still their home to occupy and remain in to the best of their ability. The act of aging in place is not taught but simply experienced. Based on a lifetime of acquired knowledge and observations along the way, people have formed an opinion of how they want to live. It may resemble how other family members have lived, or it may be something completely different.
Nevertheless, each person must find the best way for them to occupy their dwelling and to be functional in it. We are available to provide our expertise and counsel, but we aren’t in the business of teaching people how to age in place. This is an acquired individual skill that takes a lifetime to learn.