Growing older means realizing that not every broken thing needs fixing — sometimes, it simply needs time.
What’s Something You’ve Completely Changed Your Opinion on as You’ve Gotten Older?
When I was young, I believed that everything had to be solved immediately. Arguments had to be won. Friendships had to be repaired. Careers had to skyrocket. If there was a problem, it was a sign of failure, and it had to be fixed now.
But as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized something that completely changed my life: some things are not meant to be solved. Some things are meant to be endured, witnessed, and eventually outlived.
The urgency I once had — the gnawing sense that every crack in my life meant the foundation was about to collapse — has softened. Now, I understand that not every misunderstanding needs closure. Not every person who leaves needs chasing. Not every mistake needs correcting before you can move forward.
Time has taught me that some wounds close themselves, if you let them. Some people are just passing through, no matter how hard you hold on. And sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is simply wait, stay soft, and allow healing to arrive in its own time.
The younger me thought endurance was weakness. The older me sees endurance as one of the purest forms of wisdom. It’s not about giving up. It’s about knowing that life flows around pain the way rivers flow around stones — not by force, but by grace.
If you ask me today what I’ve completely changed my mind about, it’s this: you don’t always have to fight life. Sometimes, you just have to let it wash over you and trust that you are already strong enough to survive it.
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