Looking Too Far Down the Path

And other forms of self-destruction

We have big dreams. We have big plans.

So why are we not in an amazing place? Why is our best life out of reach?

Speaking for myself, I confess that self-diagnose that my problem is looking too far down the path. This must not be an uncommon problem, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses this in saying,

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” This tells me that we are in good company.

Often we don’t step out in faith to accomplish big things. We imagine that the task is too large for us. We look far down the path and see what we imagine to be the conclusion of the journey, seeing that this may not end up in the place we want to be.

Or worse yet, what if it does end up where we want to be and we are no happier? Is this the root of our fear?

Dangers of Far-Sightedness

When you are focusing on what is miles and miles down the road in your car, not bothering to see what is right in front of you, what is the result? For me, the result was that I rear ended the poor guy in front of me,

In this case, I was looking way down the road, concerned about the road construction coming up, not paying attention to the car in front of me. When I collided — should I have blamed the construction up coming in the distance?

Of course not. That would be silly. Yet if we are in the process of planning our big fat hairy project, you may be tempted to throw up your hands, shrug your shoulders and say that it was not meant to be. Reality is that while chasing our dreams we still need to pay attention to what is right in front of us!

Assume that You Cannot Succeed

We have those voices in our heads. We all do.

Is anyone’s voice saying ‘You are the Best’ or ‘I love how you did that!’ If those are the voices you are hearing, I am not talking to you.

My voices are definitely saying something completely different. My voices are saying, ‘Remember that other time you messed up’ or ‘When you were in high school remember how stupid you were?’

Past non-successes (notice, they are not failures) are not indicators of today’s outcomes. Write a new story!

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. — Steve Jobs

Let the Future Take Care of Itself

There are times we want to have every step, one through one hundred plotted out in front of us. We want to see the story beginning to end.

This is not how life works.

When you are taking a hike, do you know what ever step in your journey is going to entail? Do you know that at some point you are going to have to jump over a log or when you trip get back up and dust of your bottom?

Well, that’s silly you say. But isn’t that how we often think? That unless I see precisely how to start, how the path looks and be guaranteed of success, I will not begin.

Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?

Go! Now!

So what are you not doing that you know damned well that you should be doing?

Have you not started to plan your vacation?

Have you not begun your next book?

Have you delayed finishing up your education?

Only you know the answer to these things and only YOU can get on the path.

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. — Les Brown