Committed

I am firmly committed

Working toward making the changes needed to reach my full potential is without question the hardest thing I have ever done. Old patterns and ways of thinking can be difficult to alter. Sometimes I get direct opposition to the things I want for myself.  At other times the danger comes from wanting to avoid the hard work it takes to accomplish my goals. There are even times when apathy or distractions keep me from focusing on where I want to go. Nothing of value comes without difficulty. 

When I look back a day, week, or years from now I want to remember this as a time I pushed through all of the potential barriers and made it through. It does not need to look perfect, I just need to persevere. I want to see that when I fell I got back up, when things got difficult I persevered, and that I stayed true to my authentic self. The only regrets I will hold is if I give up before my journey is finished. 

Today I commit to continue walking my path. 

"Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way." - Les Brown

Busyness as vice

I am consciously engaged

Functioning on auto-pilot or killing time will not help me accomplish my goals or avoid unwanted living patterns. When I am engaged in making conscious decisions about my life and actively pursuing my goals it keeps me pointed towards where I want to be. It matters less if I accomplish them but more if I am making choices that keep me moving in the right direction.

Life is not a bunch of things to get checked off a master to-do list. It is also not about just being "busy," because that can just as easily be a type of unconscious living. Sometimes resting, playing, connecting, or just being in the moment is the most important type of conscious living I can be engaged in. I am a human being, not a human doing, and today I am consciously engaged in that process.

I triple dog dare you

I am daring greatly

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. 

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

Are we there yet?

I acknowledge my progress 

It's 7 days into 2013 and I have yet to accomplish all my goals!  Lasting change is not a quick process.  It seems to come slowly and at times can feel constantly just out of reach. Because it happens slowly I may not recognize what progress I have made. It is important to pause and realize that how far I've come is more important than how much further I have yet to go.

I will take time to pause and reflect on my victories and remain hopeful for future success. The journey is long and I have only to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. 

Keep your eye on the fencepost.

I am envisioning my future

When I was 16 I got a job moving sprinkler pipes to water a farmer's hay field. He taught me how to unhook, move, and then re-attach each section of pipe so that the field could get watered evenly each morning and evening. I was told that I should focus on a distant fence-post each time I put down a new piece of pipe. I thought I knew pretty much everything at that age and was quite certain I didn't need anyone to tell me how to put things together in a straight line. I ignored the instruction and just looked at each pipe I had previously hooked together and lined up the new one I had just moved over. When I finished I went to the top of the sprinkler line to turn the water on and saw that my sprinklers  zigged and zagged more like a slithering snake than anything that remotely resembled a straight line. 

I can't live in the future but I need to do more than look behind me or just a few steps ahead.  Unless I have a vision of where I am going I will never get there.  Having a clear idea of what I want keeps my path focused just like aiming at a fence post could have kept my sprinkler line straight. If I have no idea where I am going, any road will take me there.  Today I will create and refine the vision of my future.  

What do you envision for yourself?  Comments and feedback are always appreciated.