Moderator TrueFreedom Posted January 4, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 4, 2013 NPR published an article yesterday about how much people change with age and how little they anticipate change. I'm sure that most of use can appreciate how much we have changed in the past ten years, especially a few years after leaving Christianity, but how much do we expect to change in the next ten years?http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/03/168567019/you-cant-see-it-but-youll-be-a-different-person-in-10-years?utm_source=NPR&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2me Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I remember when I was 18, hearing people talk about how much I would change over the next few years, and being absolutely terrified of that prospect. At the time, it sounded like I would be transformed into a completely different person I would not recognize at all. I swore that would not happen to me. Well, I did grow and mature, and I look at almost everything much differently now than I did then. But I am not sure if 'change' is the right word. I consider it more of a 'refinement' of my character. I think I've always had a pretty good idea of the person I wanted to be, and although I can't say that I'm exactly there yet (and maybe will never be), I've found more reliable and efficient ways to get closer to that person. I'd say that my definition of that person I want to be is also clearer now than when I was younger. As to the rate of change slowing as you get older, that seems true to me. But using the 'refinement' analogy, I see it as starting out with a block of marble... first you chip away huge chunks of stuff that won't be part of the final statue, then as you progress the chunks you remove get smaller and smaller until eventually you're just sanding away the rough edges. Yes, the final result is much different than what you started with, but it's still made up of the same stuff. I'm not a very philosophical person, so I hope that made sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareOne Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I have absolutely no idea. Deconversion is scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thought2Much Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Do I have to figure out who I am now before I can tell you who I will be in ten years? Because I haven't the first clue at the moment. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rek99 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If someone told me at 19 who I would be today, I would be a bit scared and excited honestly. I never graduated from college but I have a great career now, so that part would be awesome. But, if I was told that I would not longer be a Christian and I would be completely anti-religion, it would freak me out. I guess I might try and change it, but that would just lead to me researching the bible more and possibly deconverting sooner. Quick, someone get me a time machine..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msipsy218 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 There have been a few times in my life now where I was distinctly aware that I was changing. The first when I became a mother, the second when I was "saved", the third when I lost a child to miscarriage and the fourth now. During those times I had no idea who I would wake up and be the next day. I was acutely aware of my changing opinions and worldview. But those are certainly not the only times I've changed. I think those were just the critical events that shaped the changes that took place for months and even years afterward. If you would have told me 2 years ago who I would today I would have laughed at you. As for my future self, that's right on, I can't imagine that who I am will change, even though I know it will. Strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I know exactly who I'm going to be in ten years - me. I'll probably be a little more beat up, a little more weary, a lot more experienced and probably a lot more jaded, but one of the benefits about honest introspection and continual self-inventory is that there's nothing substantial about myself that I haven't already taken out and examined in the cold light of that internal laboratory. When you can compartmentalize and examine your experiences as well as I do, there's no reason to fear some kind of strange shift in personality because who I am already shifts constantly. So ten years from now I'll still agree with this answer because no matter what I see, hear, do, or feel, it won't change what I am at the core of my being, because that person is a process, not the end result. I am the explosion; not the bomb and not the rubble. Or I'll be dead. Whatever. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEWsong Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 In ten years, I still anticipate that I will NOT be a christian and never be a christian again. Ten years ago, I DID NOT have anticipated that I would EVER become a EX christian but here I am and I know that I am living honestly with myself and that the next ten years will bring change but not the drastic "wake up out of total delusion" as I did last year when I deconverted from Christianity. I can say that I DID NOT ANTICIPATE this GREAT change but I don't see how I could "change more drastically" than I have already done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaGirl Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I have absolutely no idea who I will be 10 years from now. That is what makes life soooo great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFoley Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I know that at 18, I had very idealistic notions about God, family, and marriage. I thought that God had "the one" already picked out for me and that all I had to do was show up. I also thought I wanted a career as a writer. 15 years later, I'm WAY more skeptical and jaded than I used to be. Women come and go, jobs come and go, and God (in the Christian sense) doesn't exist. Today, life is about taking things a day at a time and navigating the shit storms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Hopefully, close to retirement - I have worked for over 30 years and I am tired! Other than that - no clue. I would like to think I would remained committed to my Buddhist path, but I honestly can't even say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ crazyguy123 ◊ Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hopefully in ten years I have a good career, am no longer living in the US, though I have not decided where to move yet, and have managed to overcome my fear of becoming emotionally attached to people, which is the main obstacle preventing me from ever being in a romantic relationship. If I am not in the situation that I described in ten years, then I will be completely screwed, although I do not know if I need to be in a romantic relationship. It seems like it might be nice to be in one, but there is barely any appeal in the idea for me, at least right now anyway. I honestly don't know who I will be in ten years, probably the same person I am now, maybe a little bit different, I'm really not certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I have absolutely no idea who I will be 10 years from now. That is what makes life soooo great Amen to that. Surprisingly I am struggling to find when and where my worldview changed. I think I was in a bubble of ignorance. And now I'm an information sponge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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