You can do it!

I can

I have had key moments in my life where I have feared to try.  I believe it is because if I tried it meant I had to be vulnerable to the risk of failure. I think this fear starts with what I think it means to try.

My try has always focused on some end-point, product or finish line that feels impossible. Ideas like successful, perfect or even good enough, loomed over me. I have frequently fought lingering doubts about my ability to achieve any of those ideals.  Added to those doubts was the fear of failing so I was left to wonder why I should even start?

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I am beginning to realize that those ideals that I see as the finish line are all a mirage. There is no finish line, only the choice of whether or not to race. My only competitor is the fear that wants me to focus on an unattainable ideal, wants me to doubt my abilities, and wants me to avoid trying, because the only true way for me to lose is to not start the race at all. As soon as I begin I have already won.  It is expected that I will likely get tired or discouraged and stumble along the way.  I continue to win by moving forward and refusing to give up. I am not racing against anybody else and my success is not measured through a comparison of others, but by a willingness to strive towards reaching my full potential. Today I can get in the race and take the first step toward that end.

fight...Fight...FIGHT!!

I never give up

Defeat only comes by refusing to continue the fight. No matter how bruised, bloodied or broken the battle leaves me I will be victorious so long as I keep on fighting. Each battle, won or lost, is valuable if lessons are learned and new skills are honed. I am a fighter and victory is mine.  I refuse to give up on my myself and the journey to reach my full potential.

Checking the rear-view mirror

I am glancing back so that I may move forward

At times I get twisted up in whatever my current circumstances may be. I look at how fresh and immediate my problems appear and how far away my goals seem to be and begin to lose heart. Instead of getting stuck I can gain perspective by recognizing how far I have come in my journey. 

I may look back and see that I was able to make it through previous trials and feel the strength I have gained. I might look back and see how bad things were at times and re-commit to a vision for my future. I can also look back and be revitalized by cataloging how much I have learned and accomplished. 

Glancing back helps me gain the perspective I need to return to the present and continue moving forward in my journey with increased gratitude, confidence, hope and conviction.

Heads up!

I am looking up

This past summer I took a motorcycle safety course where I learned the basics of how to operate a motorcycle. During the classroom portion I learned about proper riding technique. I learned that the majority of accidents that are caused by rider error occur during turning maneuvers.

 

When I got on the bike and started to ride the instructors constantly reinforced "looking through the turn." It isn't enough to shift your gaze towards your destination, you have to turn your face and whole head. As I practiced this I discovered that wherever I turned my head my body and the bike would follow. It felt exaggerated at first but it was necessary if I wanted to make it through a tight turn.

 

If I am going to make it where I want to go in life I must do more than hope to get there. I must go beyond occasionally glancing in that direction. I must turn my eyes, my face, my whole head towards my goals.  Today I am looking up towards my Higher Power and my chosen path. 

Say no to monochrome

I find joy and laughter in each day

I will not wait for circumstances to change before I allow myself to feel happy. By definition traveling life's journey is a process that will be long and fraught with ups and downs. I can not expect each day to make it easy for me, but I can choose to approach it with patience, humor, joy, and gratitude.  That choice opens the door to add color and life to each day.

Life is not black and white...it's mostly gray. If I look hard enough I can always find a splash of yellow, orange, neon pink, or fuchsia!

Case of the Mondays

This too shall pass

This is the third straight Monday I have just felt.....blah.  I am unable to think of a particular reason why, but it is a growing trend that I would like to figure out.  I would guess I am not the only one who has days like that.

 

Right now it is helpful for me to recognize that it is okay to feel a little off.  It is unreasonable to expect each day to be productive or easy. What is important for me to remember is that what I feel is not a permanent condition.
 
When I get stuck in sadness, pain, or uncomfortable feelings it may seem that it will never end.  Happy memories are clouded over and my difficulties are exaggerated.  Instead of seeing it as a brief moment in the journey along my path I get stuck and end up setting up camp and living under the dark shadows.

With proper perspective I can see that Monday only lasts as long as every other day and whatever I am experiencing will pass in time if I avoid holding on to it.  I will allow myself to experience each day and continue moving. 

Choose your own adventure

I make careful and confident choices

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When I was a boy I loved when the book mobile would come to our school.  It was like a library on wheels and when I had the chance to check out a book I would often pick out a "choose your own adventure" book.  The stories are usually a mystery or adventure where as the story progresses you encounter a situation where a choice has to be made.  I liked how it felt as if I was in the story because of the chance to determine which way the story would go.

Depending on the choice you make you are directed to a specific page and the story continues. Sometimes the choices lead you to a happy and heroic ending, but other choices have disastrous consequences.  When I read the books and did not like the outcomes I would sometimes skip to the back of the book, find the ending I liked, and then work backwards to make the right choices and get the happy ending.




In my life I get to choose my own adventure, but there is no cheating backwards to get the results I want. My task is to learn to make choices I am confident with regardless of what the outcome may be, intended or otherwise. If I approach each choice thoughtfully and make decisions that are true to my authentic self, I can maintain my path of personal truth and learn from whatever consequences those choices bring.