“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.” – Wayne Dyer
Imagine a world where we wished on a star and our dreams became reality. That would be amazing wouldn’t it?
It seems like it would be, but getting into the habit of getting to the end goal immediately gets pretty boring and depressing.
Fortunately, in the real world, you have to go through a lot of ups and downs before you even get half way to where you want to be. Without guidance, our expectations for that path may be exceedingly unrealistic. I will tell you from experience that getting that big break or that big investment overnight does not happen often. If you are in an investment, sometimes getting a 10% return a few times is more accessible than making 200% in a month, but it can still happen.
When we map our way to our designated goal, we must make small goals on the way to that ‘big’ goal. So often we get caught up in achieving that massive goal that we don’t appreciate the small things we accomplish. To get a little personal, I have achieved great things in the past few years, but I have also taken a lot of losses as well. Naturally, we tend to be afraid of talking about our losses but they are the best things to happen to us. As cliché as it sounds, it does build character.
These past few months have probably been the most eventful but also the most depressing I have ever had. I have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses and have learned that sometimes dipping your feet into too many things just leaves you wet (lol).
In experiencing various realizations in the past few months, I have taken the time to reflect on the things that I have accomplished up until now. I tend to get so caught up in what I want to achieve that I downplay what I HAVE achieved. By neglecting the small successes you have, you may beat yourself up for no reason. This is my problem that I am working on – not beating myself for not achieving everything in my timeline. Some things are just out of your control. It doesn’t mean that you won’t achieve them, you just won’t achieve them now. You may not be able to handle the achievement right now so the universe or God or whatever is putting certain things in front of you to be able to be strong enough to handle what you are desiring. The child who thinks he can drive a car just because he ‘thinks’ he can will definitely crash if he isn’t in fact prepared.
Whilst acknowledging what you have achieved, don’t push yourself to get 500% out of anything you do. Remember that even in basketball, you don’t need to win every single game by more than 40 points to get the championship. You can win by one point every game and still get that trophy. It’s not about making the world shake at every step you make, its about making the damn step!
While typing this post, I am listening to an interview with investing mogul Ray Dalio. Prior to typing this sentence, he just mentioned that “pain plus reflection equals progress”.
Nothing has ever been so true…
Until next time,
Live Long and Prosperous.
J.M.
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