Because of economic prosperity, many Americans have come to expect control over nearly every aspect of life. We control the temperature of our home and our car to within a degree of our ideal comfort range. We control our coffee to an absurd extent. We control the ring tone of our phone and choose from more than a hundred television channels. Doesn’t it make sense to control the final third of our lives?
That time may come when you are old, or it may happen much sooner. Through unexpected illness or injury, rapid aging can hit your body like a speeding car. Aging is not necessarily chronological. Depending on your situation, you have three possibilities for controlling your aging plan.
Read through the three stages below to discover what stage you’re in and what stage your loved-ones are in. Each of us fits into one of the three. The goal is to avoid the unthinkable of landing in Stage Three with no plan, therefore no control.
Stage One is where you are in control of planning. Mental clarity and the ability to follow a structured format are needed to demonstrate an accurate reflection of your wishes. What makes this stage effective is documentation. The only manner of true control is an organized and documented blueprint of your information and your wishes.
Stage Two requires assistance for planning. These individuals may have been reluctant to plan, in denial, or simply unaware. They can still express their wishes and provide information but cannot keep the process on track. Guidance is required to extract their wishes and other pertinent information. Done with the right assistance, the completed plan can still be an accurate reflection of the person’s wishes.
Stage Three is where someone else does the best they can to handle your crisis. Ability to state your wishes may be limited or completely absent. Gathering data is tortuous and frequently erroneous with vital pieces of the puzzle missing. The plan may not reflect who you are and what you want. Personal control is lost.
Age Your Way is being released in September 2016. It illuminates the path to planning and explains many of the areas of confusion along the thread-bare road of medical care. You’ll learn how to take back control of the final third of your life and prepare yourself in the best way possible.
Get your complimentary Medical Planning Worksheet. This is the exact worksheet I’ve developed and use with all my clients. Click here to get the Worksheet.
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Our family has experienced the final stages of life with parents who were well prepared in many ways, not all. I look forward to reading your book so that we may try to prepare ourselves in all areas. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Paulina Kearney
Thank you, Paula. It’s a blessing when parents have done any preparation at all. It does my heart good to know that you are looking forward to your own planning. It certainly does provide peace of mind.
Debbie,
This is beautifully done – very professional yet warm as well. You hired good people, but even the best design and packaging don’t help if the message is not there. And, with your material, it IS there.
Jim Comer
Jim, thank you! Coming from someone with your experience, it means so much. Sorry for the delay in responding as I just learned how to retrieve and respond to comments. Slow learning curve for me.