Slow suicide: avoid new things at your peril

I've done it myself frequently. Something new comes along and I don't even give it a serious thought. It's different - and that's awkward when it comes to running my life. And so I dismiss it out of hand.

Here's three (shameful) examples.

1. Many, many years ago, I was a consultant for a big blue-chip company in the UK - Boots The Chemist. The challenge was, did we want to join a consortium and place mobile telephone antenna in all 1000 stores? Now, this was 1989 and cell phones were virtually unheard of. So, rather than ask intelligent questions around the idea, I dismissed it out of hand. Why on earth would anyone want to carry a phone around with them when there were hundreds of thousands of telephone cabins across the land? I had, in fact, ignored the potential of what turned out to be one of the key trends of the last 20 years! And all because it was new.

2. Similarly, in 1998, I was working for a company that had just had 'e-mail' installed. This, I should add was just one computer on one floor and turned on just once a day to see if we'd received any e-mails. In other words, we treated it a bit like the postman arriving! The point is, at first, I just couldn't see the need. Faxes were great. Who needed e-mails? Again, I was petrified by the new.

3. Today, I aim to be up with trends - sometimes even ahead of them. However, the other day I did feel resistant to using a 'Velib'. These are the 'almost free, publically available' bikes on almost every street corner in Paris. A great concept - but how to go about renting one? On this particular occasion, I pushed myself to experiment and was soon experiencing the exhilarating joy and freedom of cycling around one of the worlds most beautiful cities.

So, some rather embarassing examples - BUT - I bet you are like me - resistant to change and anything new. But, life has taught me that I miss out on so much if I'm not open to novelty. Indeed, I pass by everything that's fresh, energising and interesting about living when I refuse to embrace the new. This is why rejection of change is like slow suicide. By saying "no" to new things, you say "yes" to atrophy.

Live the Wisdom in three easy steps:

1. When something new comes your way, catch yourself being negative or obstructive: keep a very open mind in those first few critical seconds.

2. With that openness, explore the new idea/concept/product. What's it about? How does it work? Could it catch on? How could it help you and others? Be analytical and imaginative.

3. Still not convinced? Then try it out. Do a test run. Plunge in the deep end and give it a go.

Only when you've gone through 1,2,3 will you truly know whether this one is for you. If it is, then rejoice - you've just turned your back on slow suicide.

Stay young or face discrimination

A few years ago, who'd heard of the term 'ageism'? Sexism, yes; racism, of course. But ageism?

Today we hear the term more and more. In fact, in Britain people claiming discrimination at work because of their age more than tripled from 2006-2007!

So what is happening?

Like it or not, society increasingly demands that we stay young. Signs of ageing can quickly result in our being excluded - with the only recourse being to defend ourselves in the courtroom.

Actress Dame Joan Bakewell claimed that the media is dominated by the young. Meanwhile the business world is particularly unforgiving - especially in Britain.

"In America, there are women with white hair who are heads of banks, heads of corporations. Where are those women [in Britain]?" (Anna Ford, BBC)

We owe it to ourselves to stay Young Brained - and avoid falling victim to those who, rightly or wrongly, will judge our suitability according to ageist criteria.