Week 12 – Truth #2: Your Future Self Is Different Than You Expect

Becoming Someone New Is the Point

After her husband passed, Marjorie felt her world shrink overnight. Her days once revolved around caregiving, shared meals, and quiet companionship. Now, at 73, she found herself asking, “Who am I without that role?”

Months later, a neighbor invited her to join a community garden. At first, Marjorie resisted—“I don’t know the first thing about gardening,” she said—but she decided to go anyway. The soil, the sun, and the laughter of others working beside her brought something back to life. She started learning, growing, teaching others—and in the process, became someone she never expected to be: a mentor, a friend, and a community builder.

“I thought my story was over,” Marjorie shared. “Turns out, it was just changing chapters.”

Research 

Psychologists studying identity change have found that our future selves are often more different from who we are today than we can imagine. Life events, relationships, and learning experiences continuously reshape us—sometimes in surprising, positive ways.

When we allow change to unfold, we don’t lose ourselves—we expand.

Simple Tips to Try

This week, stretch gently into what’s next:

• Try One Activity Your Current Self Wouldn’t. Attend a new class, volunteer, or say yes to something that feels just a bit outside your comfort zone.

• Ask, “What Surprises Might Future Me Thank Me For?” Let curiosity, not fear, guide your next step.

• Say Yes to One New Role. Friend, teacher, traveler, volunteer, artist—roles evolve as we do.

Growth begins the moment we allow new possibilities to take root.

Anchor Question

“What new version of myself might be waiting to emerge?”

Let that question stay with you this week. Your next chapter may be closer—and more beautiful—than you think.

Thank you for reading,

Carol Marak, Solo Aging Expert