Just Do It!

Time has once again escaped my grasp and it has been nearly a month since my last blog post.  When I last wrote, I had the ill-conceived notion that life would slow down once the kids were back in school … but I was greatly mistaken!  Baseball and softball simply gave way to football and volleyball, and dance competitions turned back into weekly dance classes.  A new school year brought with it a plethora of homework for the kids while continuous deadlines still greet me at the office and my husband has recently left me widow for the demands of fall harvest.    

Meanwhile, I have been diving back into the goals which I had set aside for the summer.  I have recently become immersed in the final publishing stages of my book and my thoughts are consumed with perfecting the final details.  The journey of putting this book together has been a blast (for the most part) with dreams turning into plans and plans turning into actions and visions becoming reality right before my eyes!  The support and encouragement of my family has been amazing as they held my hand while I dove into big decisions, waited while I stopped to get a photo or two (or maybe six), and continually reviewed the entire book for the umpteenth time just because I added (or changed) a particular photo or word.  

However, with the final proof and changes staring me in the face and the finish line drawing near, suddenly fear has set in and I feel the need to procrastinate!  Why is it that making the final changes, hitting that “send” button and taking a step over the finish line is such a challenge?  I guess because we can’t go back once we’ve reached our goals … and the "what if’s" suddenly take over … What if this was a bad idea?  What if I make a mistake?  What if the publishers make a mistake?  What if it doesn’t turn out like I planned?  What if the poem wasn’t really worth publishing?  What if people think I am “crazy” … or worse yet a “terrible writer”?  (the list goes on and on) …

I think this is common as we come close to reaching any goal.  I know others who have gone through this process with other major life decisions … deciding to take on a new job, or to retire after many years of working, or perhaps to leave a bad marriage after many years of trying.  Like my book, these are all things that we may have been thinking of for years, planning for, changing our minds a few times, and changing our minds again … for quite awhile.  Although these are things we may know we want, the final decisions are always the hardest.  Accepting the new job, making your retirement date official, or perhaps signing the divorce papers are all similar to my “hitting the send button”.  Of course, these examples are much greater decisions than my meager little book, but the goal and decision process are the same.  

Ultimately, as we reach our goals, we need to go ahead and take that step over the finish line and not look back!!  The important thing to remember is that we can be proud of the courage and effort it took to tackle our goals and take charge of our own happiness.  Of course there is no way to know what the final product will be like … and it can be scary … but we need to learn to face our fears and accept the risk of making mistakes.  As a wise person recently told me, “if we don’t make mistakes we aren’t living.”  So, if it is something you really want to do, you need to go for it … or in the words of NIKE, “Just Do It!” ... Now can someone please hit the “send” button for me?

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I finish lacing up my tennis shoes and glance at my watch as I head out the door for my morning walk.  Although the kids have been in school for a week now, we are anticipating another hot, summer-like day and an early out for the students; but for now, the air still feels cooler and I take a deep breath convincing myself to continue down the road rather than opting for a cup of coffee on the porch.

My mind wanders as I head toward the park and I think about the things I have planned for the day as well as for the coming season.  Now that the kids are back in school again, it is time to step back onto the path toward those goals once again.  The summer flew by and much of my time consisted of running after my children as they pursued their activities.  Although I loved every last second of it, it is rather refreshing to slow down my pace at least a little bit with the change of the season.  It seems that with the rush of summer, it is easy to let personal goals fall by the way side.  I know that in my case, I purposely set aside some of my goals with the intent that I would pick up where I left off when the kids went back to school.   Perhaps you did the same.

But then there are the goals that are a personal challenge in the first place, such as our bad habits, and are easy to lose ground on when we find an excuse.  Perhaps you had exercise and weight loss goals and made progress throughout the first part of the year; but with the hustle and bustle of the summer, you lost track of your exercise program, gave in to unhealthy foods, and even gained a few pounds.  Maybe you had planned on saving money to put toward a bucket list vacation, but ended up spending the money on other expenses.  Perhaps you had planned to spend more quality time with family or find time for yourself, but in an effort to "get all your work done" before you could "allow" yourself time for personal gain, you ended up rarely finding time for the things you would have enjoyed.  Whatever your goals, perhaps you took one step forward this year, only to find that you took two steps back in recent months.  That is okay.  We could get caught up in blaming others and finding excuses for our recent lack of progress (that is easy to do) but ultimately we are each in charge of our own decisions each day.  The year is not over yet! 

It is time to take a deep breath, accept our lack of progress and add these items to the list of goals once again ... no need to give up and take five steps back!  These goals should not be viewed as "failures" or things we are unable to achieve.  These goals should simply be viewed as our greatest personal challenges ... ultimately, they may be our greatest accomplishments someday ... we are bound to get it right eventually!  Now lets turn ourselves around, tackle these challenges, and take "one step forward" toward that goal line once again!!  I know we can do it.  Are you with me?