Downright Daring Life

You can't do it

I was talking with a friend a few minutes ago and her inner critic has been acting up.  It has been telling her, "You'll never be able to do it."  She is working on starting up her business but the continual accusation from the critic is causing her doubt and draining her energy.  I asked her what "it" is.  "It" is the whole thing - the finished product, the marketing, getting clients, setting up her web site, being prosperous.  Ah.  Let's back up.

See our woman climber?  I can't do what she is doing.  I don't know how, I don't have the gear, I don't have the stamina or strength.  I don't know where or how to grab hold and how to even pick the route to the top.  And safety - I could really hurt myself doing it. I can't do it.  But....I can research climbing.  I can learn about gear and find instructors.  I can start to exercise, lift weights to build my strenth and go to a climbing gym to practice safely.  I can do a ton of small steps that would all add up to my standing on the top one day if that is what I determine I want to do. 

As we broke "it" into small, obtainable, easy pieces we found that my friend could start to move forward without the critic.  She is able to do the small steps and as she is successful on each one she will find renewed confidence and excitement as she sees her goal close at hand and "it" will become reality.

I tell my inner critic thanks for pointing out that I need to attend to the details and then to be quiet as I do.  I celebrate each small accomplishment and even failures because I have learned from them and both move me closer to my goals.  I don't let the critic inside steal my life or the moments of my days.

Risk the Opening

A tight fist, a tight mind, a tight heart and life lets in little light.  Holding securely feels like control and it may work for awhile but in order to reach out and take hold of something new, one must open the hand, one must risk letting go of control.  The status quo often feels safe and secure but it is just the norm, not the extraordinary. 

If you risked lightening your grip on your world, what might be able to slip in that is good, productive, life-giving and wonderful?  How would that make your life better?  Maybe you need to release your hold of one thing in order to receive something new.  What might that be?

I absolutely believe that we can all live an extraordinary life that we love but that means opening up to new ideas, new possibilities and opportunities and letting go of the old in order to grab hold of the future.  It means daring to delve into the fear of what might happen in order to see that the fear is not the truth but only an obstacle to be overcome.

This week dare to loosen your grip a bit.  See how it feels, notice whatever negativity shows itself and offer it to Christ, then consider what life might be like if you allowed something else to come in.  Daring, daily, small steps move us toward the life God has designed for us.

Staying on Track

Yesterday I pulled out my stack of cards with a value written on each one and rearranged them until I could say that these 7 are my core values.  The selected core values then become the foundation for every decision I make.  Which answer would keep me in tune with my purpose or pull me off course? I just have to see whether an opportunity lines up with my values to know what to do.  My “yes” is a real and enthusiastic one and my “no” without guilt.

My values are: to love and serve God faithfully, to continually learn and grow, to be fully authentic, to live with integrity, to teach others to love and live Christ, to care for others and love them well, to live simply with eternity-directed needs. 

Living by my values ensures balance in my different roles and responsibilities and that I am living from who I truly am.  It also calls me back to my God-given design and purpose.  With so many opportunities and directions my core values keep me on course

What do you want?

Some days I feel no motivation at all.  I have things to do, projects in process, dreams unfulfilled, and, yet, I can’t quite conjure up the umph to get going.  I make a vain attempt at it by sitting at my computer, for example, but that then leads to the internet where I can kill hours and yet accomplish nothing of any lasting value.  I wonder about these stagnant places, but wondering never motivates, it just keeps me spiraling in place. 

Above my desk I have goals, inspirational writings, financial projections and pictures to keep the vision going but when it all comes down to it only one thing matters – doing it.  If I don’t live my vision, if I don’t take the steps to get there, then I will find myself older than my current middle-age looking back on what could have been, or worse, having lost the dream itself.

I ask myself, “What do you want?  How badly do you want it?  Is what you are currently doing helping you to get there?”  (It’s good to have little talks with yourself now and again).  My answers are that I really do know what I want, it is a strong desire and, no, what I am doing now isn’t accomplishing what I want.  Now, I have to do something to fight the inertia (a body at rest tends to stay that way unless acted upon by something else).  I know that once I get my motivation back up it will have enough forward momentum to last a long time.  So, I tell you of this common struggle so you will hold me accountable to not stay there.  Just knowing you will read this has renewed my motivation.  Thanks.