I don’t know when this happened, but here it is Oct. 18. 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 (or, if you’re lucky enough, it comes multiple times) when the realization strikes hard that you want something different – and, along with it, the understanding that 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 declare that you will no longer stand in your own way.
You close your eyes, you steady yourself, you take a breath that feels infinitely deep.
You focus all your energy on what you’re creating.
And you jump.
I can tell you from my own personal experience that leaping into a new reality 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 that calendar. 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 same self-doubt that keeps you mired in the muck…
The same job that takes more from you than it gives…
The same relationship that leaves you feeling empty or hurt or craving more…
The same sense of procrastination that puts everything off for a tomorrow that never seems to come…
The same 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 a flash of motivation touches you and makes your heart skip, take a beat. Put down whatever it is you’re doing and grab that lightning with both hands. Stare into its eyes. Hear what it’s telling you. Write it down so you won’t forget. Cry if you feel compelled.
But, whatever you do, don’t set it aside. Don’t swat it away as if it were a pesky gnat. This is your intuition talking. Listen. Then act, moving with trembling baby steps if that’s what it takes.
I promise, you won’t regret it.
