What is Taking So Long?

Life is in the journey not the final destination. Life is in the experiences, good and bad, the people you encounter, the milestones you reach and the knowledge you gain along the way. 
~J.V. Manning

As much as I love the fresh new start to a New Year - the fact that my entire world hasn't changed in the first full week is a bit discouraging. I mean right? All the hype, resolutions and goals? I should have at least won the lottery or something. I haven't lost any weight yet nor am I am any taller.

What is taking so long...

Sound familiar? We live in the day and age of immediate-now-gotta have-yesterday results. Instant gratification. Work for something? You're kidding right? Isn't there an app or something I can download? I sure I can find something in the Twitterverse or maybe if I scour Facebooklandia. I said this was the year I took my writing to the next level - an agent, publisher, reach millions and get a three book deal. It's been 7 days...why isn’t anything happening yet?

Oh, that's right - I haven't actually taken any steps in that direction. To get results one must put themselves out there and work for them. I haven't walked ten miles either. Though I did shovel about a ton of snow, so I should have dropped a minimum of 40 pounds or so. But, alas, nope.

I can hear all the -"But it's soooo hards" in my head. 

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Anything worthwhile in life never, I repeat, never - comes easy. If it did we wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much as we would have had we busted our ass to achieve, reach or hit our goal. So you have dreams, that's cute, tell me what you are doing to reach them. There is something in life you need to face, deal with - okay, but what have you done to actually face it? Thoughts are simply actions without motivation. You want it - do the work to get it. This includes; dreams, goals, healing, schooling, growth. Stop talking about what you are going to do, what you need to do and just get to the doing part of it.

A fresh new start every 365 days is awesome - what have you done with the first 7? Personally, I'm kinda easing into the whole thing. I actually wrote a list of what I want to accomplish, get in the works and focus on this year. I started a new job on Monday and I will have to flesh out the rest once I get into the flow of a new work environment. I am so motivated this year. But, I know at some point, hopefully in the way distant future, I will probably get frustrated that something is taking so long or the results I was looking for just aren't happening fast enough. This critical moment, for me, for you, for anybody - is where we show what we are made of. What we will fight for. If we truly believe in what we are doing. If we give up without a fight, chances are our hearts weren't really in it to begin with.

Pay attention to what your soul fights for. What thought plays on repeat in your head. If it's the I-will-only-be-happy-when-I get, have, meet or achieve ___________(fill in the blank), then you are totally in the wrong mindset. Be happy on your journey towards an end result, don't hang your happiness on the end result. Sometimes, we end up so far away from what we envisioned and we are so busy beating ourselves up about it, we miss the fact that where we ended up was an even better place than what we thought we wanted in the beginning. Sometimes the thing you wanted most, you didn't even know about but found on the route to where you thought you wanted to be.

I have had this happen so many times. I was taking aim at a goal that I just knew I had to attain and during the journey to what I thought was my end result, I discovered something completely unexpected, which in turn changed my thinking and recalibrated the steps I was taking initially. The lesson I learned was that if I had never tried in the beginning, I would have never known. Expecting the unexpected and learning to appreciate it, makes life more vibrant and colorful. Be a willing participant in your own life. Be flexible. 

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Maybe the first week of the New Year hasn't been an epic success, maybe it has, either way you don't get to stop trying. Identify your goals. Embrace them but don't get overwhelmed or suffocated by the idea of them. Avoid tunnel vision and be open to other avenues you chance upon. Stop beating yourself up when you slip up or stumble, look for the lesson. Then, dust yourself off, get up and keep moving forward. You won't get to where you want to be if you never take the steps to get there.

But remember, life is in the journey not the final destination. Life is in the experiences, good and bad, the people you encounter, the milestones you reach and the knowledge you gain along the way. Even if you don't know where you're going, put one foot in front of the other and figure it out as you go along. Be open to new experiences, step outside your comfort zone. If you are on a healing journey, towards peace and acceptance, look for the helpers. They are there. Usually showing up when you need them most. But be open to the possibilities, help and offers of friendship. While I know there is so much we must face on our own, having new or old friends with us does not diminish our power but increase it.

Trust your journey.

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