BY PATTIE MIHALIK

One of the things I’ve learned is that life is a constant learning experience. There never seems to come a time when we’re there — when we know all that we need to know.

Only the very young believe they know it all.

When I was a kid, I certainly thought I knew it all. With the sophomoric wisdom of the misguided, I wasn’t shy about saying I knew the right solution.

As a case in point, I remember a time when I was applying for my first job as a newspaper columnist. I was only 16 at the time but I figured I knew more than the editor knew about what teenagers wanted to read. My advantage: I was a teenager.

So, with the misplaced confidence of the young, I went to see our local newspaper editor to tell him the newspaper had little of interest for teenagers.

“Oh, and I guess you think you could do it better,” he retorted.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I can,” I told him.

Believe it or not, he decided to give my ideas a chance. I was hired as a teen columnist with my own my own teen page on a trial basis. I had two months to prove myself. I guess I did because at the end of that time, I was given the job for as long as I wanted it.

While it worked out well for me, I cringe when I look back at the audacity of my teenage self. Self-confidence is one thing. Thinking you know it all is quite another.

I recall giving my mother parenting advice, telling her when I had kids of my own I would do it better.

As you might suspect, years later when I became a parent I had to eat those words when I had to keep calling my mother for her sound advice.

As life went on, there was never again a time when I thought I knew everything. The older I grew, the more I realized I didn’t know it all. There were plenty of times when I realized I knew nothing.

Now that I’m an old kid again, I’m amazed that there never comes a time when I don’t need to learn more. I constantly have to seek out others to teach me about specific things I need to know.

I also find there never comes a time when I think I am the person I want to be.

I know I am a work in progress, no matter how old I grow. I’m always working to be a better version of myself.

I think when you get to be as old as I am one should have his or her act down pat. You shouldn’t need as much attitude adjustment. Yet I find I still continue to have to give myself an attitude adjustment when I get off track.

Just like our cars that need to go in to the shop for periodic checkups and adjustments, our attitude sometimes gets out of sync and need a bit of an adjustment.

I’m often amazed at how I can reshape my attitude toward one particular thing and then see how much better my “new attitude” makes me feel.

We are at the time of year when some are making New Year’s resolutions. When a group of us got together this week we asked each other if we still believed in making New Year’s resolutions. Most said no. They gave that up a long time ago.

I said yes, I do make New Year’s resolutions. But I make them year-round, not just at the end of the year.

What it amounts to is my personal effort to become a better me. I pick one aspect of my personality or my habits and work on being better.

I don’t do it for anyone except myself. The way I figure it, if I get to live another day I might as well live that day better than the ones before it.

Physically we decline with the advancing years. No lipstick, makeup or anti-wrinkle cream will give me the face of my youth.

While I may not be winning the game externally, that doesn’t mean I can’t be better internally.

So I work to become a better version of myself. If I’m not better in some way, I’m losing the battle.

In many ways I know I am better than I was in my youth. I’m a lot more appreciative — more able to see the small blessings that come my way as well as the major ones.

When my phone keeps ringing while I’m trying to concentrate on writing, I remind myself having friends that call is a blessing, not just an interruption in my work day.

Now that I’m older, I think less about myself and more about helping others. As I look around at those around me, I think a lot of older people look for opportunities to help others.

Some of my past self-improvement projects involved learning to stress less about problems and learning to let go of situations I can’t control.

There are many areas of my life that need improvement. I tackle those areas one at a time.

One commercial tells us, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better.”

Hopefully, we can all work to make that happen.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.