Aging Playfully: How to Make Peace With Uncomfortable Experiences w/ Dr. Susan Campbell

Overview

This episode explores the challenges and opportunities of aging, focusing on emotional resilience, authenticity, and creativity. Dr. Susan Campbell shares insights on embracing discomfort, navigating relationships, and cultivating self-awareness as tools for personal growth and transformation.

Notable Quotes

- Whatever life deals to me, I will deal with it. – Susan Campbell, on cultivating inner confidence amidst life's uncertainties.

- Things that don't immediately please you can be worked with in a variety of ways. – Susan Campbell, on the value of slowing down and embracing discomfort.

- Stepping into the unknown voluntarily lets me know I'm on the right track. – Katie Hendricks, on the joy and growth found in embracing uncertainty.

🌱 Embracing Discomfort and Emotional Resilience

- Susan Campbell emphasizes the importance of learning to sit with unpleasant emotions, describing it as a skill that becomes increasingly vital with age.

- She advises welcoming discomfort as a learning opportunity, asking, What does this show me about me?

- Katie Hendricks highlights the transformative power of turning toward discomfort, which nourishes personal growth and resourcefulness.

- Practical tools like self-regulation, self-compassion, and sharing mixed emotions are discussed as ways to navigate challenging interactions.

🧠 Aging and Creativity

- Sophie Chiche shares her experience of taking on creative challenges, like building a 400-pound concrete sphere, as a way to defy societal expectations about aging.

- The group discusses how creativity can stretch comfort zones and keep the mind active, regardless of age.

- Susan Campbell praises intentional discomfort as preparation for life's inevitable changes, noting that creativity fosters adaptability and resilience.

❤️ Navigating Relationships Amid Aging

- Susan Campbell shares examples of couples and families dealing with aging-related challenges, such as cognitive decline or loss of physical function.

- She introduces truth skills, like sharing mixed emotions and staying connected to oneself, as tools for maintaining empathy and intimacy in relationships.

- Katie Hendricks underscores the importance of the loop of awareness, balancing attention between oneself and others to foster connection and understanding.

🌍 Societal Attitudes Toward Aging

- Katie Hendricks asks what societal attitudes toward aging should change. Susan Campbell advocates for curiosity and patience, emphasizing that aging doesn't always equate to decline.

- The group discusses the need to avoid assumptions about older individuals and to approach them with empathy and respect.

- Susan Campbell reflects on her own experiences with aging, sharing how patience has become a central practice in her life, especially in caregiving relationships.

🧘‍♀️ Daily Practices for Presence and Growth

- Susan Campbell describes her practice of self-awareness, reviewing her actions and staying connected to the present moment.

- Katie Hendricks shares how she uses physical feedback, like bumping into objects, as a reminder to return to presence.

- Both emphasize the importance of ongoing practices that integrate mindfulness into daily life, fostering emotional resilience and authenticity.