While Staying Present!
It’s necessary to find a happy medium between these two states in order to find success within both.
Looking Ahead – Of course everyone looks ahead to the future, that’s where we place all the beautiful and dreamy things we want to accomplish. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? Obviously, which is why we set goals within timeframes that are attainable but keep in mind that those timeframes can be flexible, just because you haven’t reached a goal at a point when you expected doesn’t mean you give up or abandon the dream, it just means the timeframe gets extended. I’ve always set my goals a little higher because I have big dreams and high expectations and at times I’ve been told I’m a dreamer but so far the dreams I really wanted to work out have manifested, maybe not always for when I planned them but usually when I’ve used every last bit of effort I have and left nothing on the table. Success from really hard work has both internal and external rewards but honestly I think internally, pride of accomplishment when in pursuit of your dreams is more rewarding than the actual success.
– If everything in life is easily accomplished then where’s the challenge?
– How do you know how far you can push yourself if you never extend past that comfort zone?
– How do you know what you’re capable of or how far you can go if you’ve never stood near the edge?
Staying Present – I think this is where balance is most needed, at least for me because it’s easy to look ahead and dream but it’s difficult to know what you see in the picture ahead and not yet be there, especially if patience isn’t your strongest suit. I’ve struggled with this because I have a lot of energy for moving forward and getting things done and most of the time I get impatient with the stride, especially if it gets slowed down for any reason. Even though I know that all things happen for a reason, it’s a difficult thing for me to accept when I want to be on the fast track, when I can see what lies ahead but I can’t quite get there yet. Similar to a long distance runner, they pace themselves, they find a comfortable stride and stay in that zone to maintain it. This is a great asset although I haven’t fully developed it yet, I’ve been forced into it at times and even though I think it’s necessary to help increase aspects of my character through obstacles that help build and challenge me sometimes I overthink it and it becomes overwhelming.
Just recently I had to slow my stride and I think it’s because I wasn’t balanced between these two states, I was overanxious to move ahead and tried to push past the Universe’s timeline for all things progressing, not just my own.
Not everything in life progresses as we initially envision it, as events unfold, the picture transpires, adapts or changes. Sometimes the end result we initially saw or wanted changes into something we desire more or didn’t realize at the time because emotionally we weren’t there yet.
As I challenge myself personally so do those in my life and the Universe challenges us all through experiences that we sometimes face together. Through those experiences bonds are formed and/or strengthened by an immeasurable faith in humanity and each other.
Shelley Hallmark 