With the end of the year fast approaching I am sure that you are hearing others (and maybe yourself) saying – “OMG, where did the year go?”
Quite a valid question, I would say. Are you where you thought you would be by this December when 2019 began?
How does your reality line up with the reality you imagined at the beginning of the year?
The great thing about life is that it is to a large degree self-determined. Maybe you hear yourself saying, “That’s a nice concept – But, what about things that are out of my control?” Granted, stuff does happen and that ‘stuff’ does mess up our plans.
The question is, do you let this stuff have a limiting effect on you or do you celebrate the ‘stuff’ with gratitude, see the opportunities, make the most of it and move forward in a constructive way consistent with your vision and plans?
I would not be surprised if there are areas in your life where you are not where you thought you would be by this time this year.
You may have dropped the ball when something happened. It may have been bad or good but it was significant enough to put you off target.
It may have been that you got in with the ‘wrong company’, got lazy, hung out on the ‘wrong side of the street’ or polluted yourself with the ‘wrong thoughts and ideas’ or something equally distracting.
It is probably an accurate observation that it is what we ‘do’ with the ‘stuff’ that determines how we are affected by it.
I find a useful frame to put around the ‘stuff’ that appears out of my control is that this was ‘pre-determined’ – it has happened – it is over – now toughen up, get over it and re-decide as to where to from here. Watch a toddler as he or she is exploring the world. They trip, they fall, they get ‘ouchies’ but they just get straight back up again and carry on their way. Sure there may be a few tears but they don’t last and soon all is forgotten and they plough headlong with intense curiosity into what it was they were about exploring at that moment.
Adults, on the other hand have a tendency to let the situation determine who they are – “I’m a klutz, I’m no good, there’s no sense in doing this” is often the internal cry. We spend time, money and effort in trying to understand our dilemma and figure out ‘why’ this has happened to us.
So, rather than trying to handle ‘stuff’ when it happens let’s look at what it takes to bless the ‘stuff’.
Isn’t it interesting how some people just seem to be in the right place at the right time – they seem to come up shining whenever they fall or fail? These people are grateful for their life. They see their life as a daring adventure. They have lofty goals and suck the best out of every situation. What are their ‘secrets’ to success?
My observation of the ‘secret’ of this successful way of being a human is quite simple. You are here, right now (December 2019) as a result of the following factors that you have included or excluded in your life so far:
- The people who you have engaged with up to now and especially those who you currently hang out with.
- The meaning you have made from the situations (‘stuff’) you have found yourself engaged in.
- The quality of the nutrition you have ingested.
- The books and images (mental diet) you have absorbed.
- The quality of the structure of your spine and the connections of your nerve system.
- The amount of exercise and movement you have been doing.
- The decisions you have made with a heart filled with gratitude
- And, most importantly the number of times you have celebrated life this year.
Going into the New Year I suggest it would be a worthwhile exercise to do an audit of the past year. Take a look at where you have supported yourself and plan for more of this. Also assess where you have let yourself down in the above areas in 2019 and make a plan to rectify these in 2020.
It will be a change worth celebrating.
Mark
