I don’t know when this happened, but it’s Oct. 19. Last time I checked, it was July… and, the time before that, January. Time feels like it’s moving at an unfathomable speed; weeks seem to flutter by before I’ve even had the chance to greet them. I used to think this was an illusion but I’ve begun to accept it as reality: Time really does fly, no matter if you’re having fun or not.
So why not enjoy it? Why settle for drudgery and merely getting by when loving life is an equally viable option?
There comes a point in life (or, if you’re lucky enough, it comes multiple times) when the realization strikes hard that you can choose a different reality. You can choose it and you can create it. You see the hard work ahead and, for a moment, you’re not afraid of it. Actually, you welcome it. You’re willing and ready to take the risks required.
So you throw off the shackles of other people’s expectations.
You close your eyes, you steady yourself, you take a breath that feels infinitely deep.
You declare that you will no longer stand in your own way.
And you jump.
I can tell you from my own personal experience that the leaping can be scary as hell. It doesn’t happen without near-paralyzing levels of uncertainty, mostly in your own abilities. But it can also be the most liberating, rewarding, self-building and transformative decision of your life.
Look at the calendar. Oct. 19. The year’s rapidly closing. If you’re unhappy now, when we arrive at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, are you going to be satisfied with another year of the same?
The self-doubt that keeps you mired in the muck…
The job that takes more from you than it gives…
The relationship that leaves you feeling empty or hurt or craving more…
The procrastination that puts everything off for a tomorrow that never seems to come…
The physical habits and lines of thinking you know deep down are toxic and holding you back…
I don’t think you will. You want more. You want to live fully and richly with intention and meaning. (You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t.)
So when the flash of motivation touches you and makes your heart skip, I want you to stop. Put down whatever it is you’re doing and grab that lightning with both hands. Stare into its eyes. Listen to what it’s telling you. Write it down so you won’t forget. Cry if you want to. But don’t set it aside. Don’t swat it away as if it were a pesky gnat. It’s your intuition talking. LISTEN. Then act. Move. Trembling baby steps if that’s what it takes. I promise, you won’t regret it.
Because you are not stuck. Not now, not ever.
xo,
b
