It’s time to rebuild

I grew up in a sleepy little southeastern county in the mid-70s when the eye could see farmland stretched across the horizon for miles. Corn and soybean fields have given way to cookie-cutter neighborhoods and congested country roads.

Boy, do times change

My mom would bring me to town on Saturdays to shop for clothes at Belk’s and groceries at Gamble’s and give me a dollar plus tax to buy the latest copy of The Wrestler or Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazines at Ray’s Newsstand.

The little town hummed with activity.

Then came the shopping mall in the early 80s, and my busy little downtown wilted like a thirsty rose in the mid-August southern sun.

Downtown limped for 40 years, surviving on weekly foot traffic because of the courthouse and law offices. Businesses and restaurants came and went, choking on the ghost town weekends.

And time keeps changing

Then, one day recently, I took a different route into town and noticed several new businesses — restaurants, breweries, and ice cream and pastry shops.

My town has changed. I’m not sure how I missed it other than I stopped looking around and only came into town to work.

My childhood grocery store is now a science center. A law office is now a coffee and pastry shop. An old gas station is a café. A flower shop is a bar. An old one-screen movie theater abandoned and deteriorating for a couple of decades, is now a newly renovated one-screen movie theater and playhouse. My once-busy town went on life support for several decades, but new energy blew life into it.

It changed.

Do you change?

When was the last time you changed or tried something new? Or are you allowing aging and apathy to board up your hope and vitality like a dilapidated old building?

Midlife is not when we turn off the lights, close the doors, and think our best years are behind us. We should be wiser and more capable of making better choices that lead to higher-quality lives.

But it takes effort. Our bodies are aging and need more attention. So, you exercise even if you hate it. Otherwise, your body will fail, and you’ll spend time managing poor health instead of doing things you love.

This principle also applies if you’re stuck and deteriorating in your profession. Dream a blueprint for the life you want and work on the plan to get there. Days will pass whether you do or not. But if you consistently work toward your dreams, you can transform and revitalize your life.

It took my town 40 years. I’m betting you can do it much quicker.

My new book will help you. Check it out, Stronger Down the Stretch.

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