As we age, it is best to become process oriented rather than outcome oriented. This means that we cease to rely on results or acquisitions. Why is this? Because, when we depend on acquiring things, we reinforce everything that we will soon lose. The body goes, faculties dwindle and companionship fades. If in the midst of all this, we continue to seek to do and acquire, we set ourselves up for distress.
How then do we manage our needs? By fully understanding and accepting that we might not get what we want or wish for. Ageing is a time of attrition, and if we can curtail our desire for certainty, we learn to develop the capacity to endure whatever might be unfolding. Demanding that things turn out a certain way is fruitless when we have to be at peace with the eventual loss of everything.