Perfectly Situated To Learn

If you have 40 minutes to listen to something enchanting today, I highly recommend listening to Max Linksy’s interview with Madeleine Albright on the podcast 70 Over 70.

I just learned about both the podcast and interview from my 22-year-old son, who grew up with his over 70 grandmother spending a great deal of time living in our home.

I guess that would make me part of the sandwich generation – those of us who are paying close attention to the well-being of our children and our parents at the same time.

While there may be days I feel the pressure of that sandwich, today it’s dawning on me that I’m uniquely “situated” to learn from those with the best vantage points on life. I have the young to point me to new ideas to consider (and who make me feel old). I have the old to ground me in the wisdom they’ve earned (and who make me feel young).

In what feels like a very honest interview, Madeleine Albright doesn’t deny her desire to be younger and in a position of great influence. She absolutely loved her jobs as Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of State. Yet, she gives an honest depiction of how she continues to live meaningfully as she ages (she’s now 84).

If Albright’s wisdom is powerful enough to inspire the young adults among us, I thought it might move something in you.

A few quotes I jotted down:

• “You can overdo (thinking) on something you can’t undo.” (on the problem with overthinking)

• “Being able to deploy humor at a certain time is a very useful arm of some kind.” (on handling difficult situations)

• “The things that I like to do are the things that I need to do. And those things I need to do, I like doing.” (on being proud of herself for how she lives her life)

• “The things that I’m doing now are the best combination of using what I learned to keep going and doing different things to make a difference.” (on connecting the dots to adapt to new types of work as you age)
  

Albright speaks of the value of staying connected to the human part of ourselves – we are real people behind our jobs and our roles. She talks about the importance of studying contexts and histories and looking for humanity, even when we are engaging with difficult people.

When tasked at a dinner party to find 6 words to describe herself, the woman who arrived to this country as a refugee and became our first female Secretary of State offered, Worried optimist. Problem solver. Grateful American.

What would be 6 words you would use to describe yourself at this juncture in your life?

How might you like those 6 words to evolve?

What have you learned from someone younger than you today?

What have you learned from someone older?

Let’s take advantage of being uniquely situated in our sandwich (if that’s where you find yourself).

Let’s take the new ideas and the wisdom and live more powerfully in the now.

Love,

Molly