Positive Change At Any Age

January 13, 2010

Interview with Susan Krauss Whitbourne, author of the book The Search for Fulfillment 

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Mike Carruthers:
If you’re an adult you’ve heard all the cliches that, "Youth is wasted on the young,"  that, "Your best years are behind you..." – well it turns out to be completely untrue.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne:
Development continues throughout adulthood. People don’t just not change after you turn 18.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, author of the book The Search for Fulfillment has been involved in a 40-year study of over 180 people.

People can change at any point in life. It’s always possible to get off a pathway that’s heading in a direction you don’t want and jump onto one that’s going in a more fulfilling direction. And one of the fascinating features of my study was that, some of the people who didn’t look like they were in such great shape in their 20tys really caught up with their psychologically more advantaged peers.

We have an incredible ability to adapt and change as we age if we don’t give up.

And often times you’ll find that by taking a small step you can gain a great deal of confidence in yourself. And if you see something go right then you can take the next step in that direction.

And after distilling all of the data from her study, Susan says that it’s clear that change for the better is always possible.

All of the evidence that we have shows that people, as they get older, have a rosier view on life. And it’s one that’s based in part on knowing that they’ve coped with whatever life has thrown their way.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here