I was working with my son on his homework the other night. The poor kid was so stressed out. We had gotten a late start, and he had a project looming that he needed to work on. He had been up too late for a few nights in a row and desperately needed dinner. Recipe for disaster, right?
He had put in about 20 minutes on his math sheet and was getting nowhere fast. I told him to just staple a homework coupon to it and move on. He started crying and saying he had already started it. He felt he would have wasted all that time if he didn’t finish the sheet. I explained all of the things he had to do that night and that at the pace he was going the math sheet would take at least an hour to finish. I told him to cut his losses and move on. Thankfully, he agreed with me.
As I am finding with a lot of things lately this same concept has popped up all over the place. For example, my friend lost her job. A job she hated. A job that had completely taken over her life with time demands and stress. Absolutely terrifying, yes! Could it also be the universe handing her an opportunity to cut her losses? She is tough and unbelievably strong. I believe that whatever lies ahead for her will be better than giving more of her life to a thankless, stressful and panic inducing job.
It seems we either don’t commit to anything in case something better comes along. This indecision fritters our lives away as we wait around for just the right thing to appear. The other option is we commit to a horrible job, unhealthy relationship, or hurtful friendship because we have already put so much into it. We think of how much we would have wasted if we were to walk away. We think that all the time, money, education we have invested to get us there would have been a waste. Maybe we should think about how changing now would save us from spending even more time being unhappy. How about committing to what we want right now? Isn’t it possible that what works for you today will not work for you in a year or five years? Don’t let that stop you from committing fully to your life and goals now. Don’t hang on to what doesn’t work just because you have been doing it for so long. I am not saying you need to get divorced or ditch all your friends. How about committing to make your marriage the best it’s ever been? How about sitting down with your friend and being honest about making the friendship better. Take time to stop and notice what does work for you and move towards that.
You do have unlimited potential. You have decided where your limits are and you can decide to change them. Imagine holding a baby. You look into their little angel face and sniff their downy head. You know from the bottom of your soul that this little being has the potential for greatness. Whatever their wondrous minds dream of you would support and encourage, because you know they are capable of reaching those dreams. Well, we were all that baby once. Which means a seed of unlimited greatness lies within each of us. You can make it look however you want, but I would advocate that you don’t ignore it! I say water the heck out of that seed and see what grows.
I am putting a link here to an article on Oprah’s website http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Are-You-On-the-Right-Career-Path/1
I know this says “Are You On the Right Career Path”, but it is really about listening to yourself. A great story of three women learning to trust themselves and finding their true life path.
I am also putting a link to a blog with a great post about rekindling the fire within. Check out this story about someone who is finding empowerment one step at a time, literally http://delishworld.com/2012/02/07/one-step/
Starting this blog and committing to starting the seminars has been a conscious choice for me to let go of what wasn’t working for me. I am on one of the “On The Fence” types just waiting around for the right thing. I never want to commit if something better might be coming. I never want to get pinned down because I might change my mind. The consequence in my life is no clear career path. It would be safe to say that I am a dabbler. As I started to get clear about what really lights me up I knew that I love being with friends, I love seeing people go for something big, and I know I have a talent for seeing potential in people that they may not see themselves. How do you turn any of that into something useful? Well, here I go.
Join us. Our first seminar will be with Susan on 2/26 at the Thompson Library in Woburn, MA. You can sign up through Pay Pal. http://lifeandfriendship.com/brighten-your-light-series-sign-up
If payment is an issue please contact me at heather@lifeandfriendship.com and we can figure something out. If you feel pulled by what you read here, I would be honored to have you join us.
Susan’s class will focus on healthy cooking and shopping. She will help you see what you are already doing right and some real life options of things you can try to do even better. Susan is wonderful, knowledgeable, and practical. She is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and someone who is constantly educating herself about all things food related. You can read more about Susan on the Refresh Your Plate page under Meet the Experts. Our group discussion to follow will focus on how the way you feed yourself reflects how you care for yourself in general. We will think about how we can free ourselves from being stuck with an “If Only” mindset.
As always, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment or send me an email. Let me know what inspires you. Do you have a quote, book, person or experience that has nudged you?