Thursday, October 17, 2013

Did I Really Think I Knew What I Was Doing?

In our minds, we know everything: the right things to say, the right places to go, the right people to surround ourselves with and what it means to be happy. HaHa! Who are we kidding? If I really knew all of these rights, I can assure you I wouldn't have made the choices I've made and done the things I've done! The stories we write in our minds are powerful. Write a story of success and self worth and you will more than likely be successful and feel pretty good about yourself. There is, however, a catch to this...bear with me!

When we tell ourselves the story of how life is going to be, we typically leave no measure of open mindedness to the possibility we don't have it all figured out! Not that we shouldn't strive for success and happiness, of course we should! Trust me, I've written the negative stories, too often, and that's no good for anyone!! (another time we can talk about that!) While the story of success is what we write, we actually only read the ending. What about the middle of the story? You have to know not just what you want to become, but you have to know that along the journey you're going to have choices to make. How do we know what direction to take? And when you make the wrong choice, and you will down the road, how do you get back on the right path and make up for lost time?

Are you a strong enough person to admit you were wrong? Great! I wasn't! You see, the ending of my story was picture perfect, I just didn't take time to consider that getting to the end would probably be tough! The first bumps along the journey slowed me down momentarily, but I was full of energy and confidence and nothing was going to stop me from being the first one to get to the end of the story! I'm awesome like that! However, what happens over the second and third bumps? It's harder and harder to stay motivated, takes a little more energy and determination and the ending of the journey is looking further away in the reality of living then it ever did in my mind.

So, what do you do? I can tell you what not to do from experience, but let's keep this as positive as possible! First things first, you have to be in contact with the One who gave you the dream to start with. Yes, you know who I'm talking about, God. His plans for us are to prosper and never to bring us harm. So pray about it. (Susan, please read this part over and over because you are the worst at skipping step God!) Then share your dream with someone you trust, someone you know will encourage you, pray for you, hold you accountable and cheer as you cross the finish line. You become like the five people you hang around the most...(ok, so I have 5 kids, therefore I may be a bit simple and childish about life right now!!) I think the most important part of reaching your dream is knowing what to do in the middle of the journey, the part you didn't think about, the how you actually get there!

Wait, you don't know the middle? Neither do I! This is where the need for being open minded comes into play. As we travel along, wrong turns, bad choices or just plain whining will happen. It's these times that we need to ask for help. Maybe you're on the right track and just lack the confidence to remain there. Maybe you're way off base! Keeping yourself open to the possibility of being completely unsure of what to do will help if you will set aside the attitude of knowing it all and allow yourself to be open and vulnerable and teachable. The end of the story is great! Don't change it! However, be prepared for a few rewrites along the way!

QUESTION: Have you come to a place in the journey where you wanted to give up? What kept you going?

Have a character building day!
Susan

1 comment:

  1. I love this, Susan! I see a drive in you to get to that end goal, and you are not afraid to put some work into it to get there. I'm proud of you!!! Jan Houser

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment! Together we can build each other up!