Growing up in Marine Parade in the 80s, East Coast Park (ECP) has always held a special place in my heart.
Every evening, my caretaker (an elderly neighbour in his 60s), would bring me to ECP for his daily walk.
It was the highlight of my day, as I listened to his fascinating life stories as a sailor, husband, and father.
To this day, ECP’s nostalgia brings me back to my childhood on every visit.
Last Sunday evening, I was back at the ECP.
I sat on a bench looking out at the sea the same way I used to.
Recalling those beautiful memories I shared with my caretaker as a kid.
Not knowing, an elderly man came and sat beside me on the bench.
After 10 mins, he caught my glance at him,
“ah, beautiful, isn’t it? What do you do?”
I explained I left my corporate career to start my coaching practice Positive Minds last year.
“Why did you do that?”, he asked, looking puzzled.
Feeling compelled to justify my answer, I replied
“I want to help people who feel small and wish they could (achieve more), because that was me.”
“You’re crazy!” he laughed.
The old man went on,
“But crazy is good. When you are my age, you don’t care what others think(of you). What you care about are the things you did not do”. he said with a smile as if he was reflecting on his life.
“Go on, make stories that you can tell your grandchildren about.” he added, which sets me thinking.
What is my story?
How would I want my story to be told?
Often, we are overwhelmed by our daily juggle between work, family and other commitments.
Not knowing, we are drafting each page of our life stories every day.
As authors of our lives, we decide how our story unfolds.
This may sound crazy.
But if I could help others start a fresh chapter in their stories, I would be glad with the decisions and sacrifices I made.
Then, my new chapter as a coach would be a story that’s worth sharing.
The old man smiled as he looked at me in the eye.
I smiled and we parted ways without another word.
That old man is 𝘮𝘺 elderly future self.
What about you?
I’d love to hear your story. DM me or share in comment. 🙂
PS: This ‘elder self’ is a self-reflection exercise as part of my Coaching development with Positive Intelligence (PQ). We are to visualize what we could discover from the wiser/elder version of ourselves.
