When 2017 came in I had a laundry list of things I wanted to accomplish. There are actual things, like physical goals that I’m working toward. And there are not so concrete things; things I’m trying to bring into my life to improve on it. Don’t we all start a new year that way? Sitting down and creating a mental (or physical) list of what we can do to feel more fulfilled, more connected, more alive? I bought a huge planner, I mapped out my goals for 1 month, 3 months, a year, 3 years etc. I broke those down into the most important goals and highlighted what I could do to get me to them. I put deadlines in place and started making lists of how to get there efficiently and quickly. I love lists, I live by them, but I also tend to get trapped by them and eventually bogged down by the sheer volume of stuff I want to accomplish on any given day. Sometimes I even let the list get in the way of what I really need to focus on.
So, here’s the thing: want to feel more fulfilled? More connected? More alive? Then just start living. There, done. Easy, right? Except it isn’t. I find myself making lists full of things that I know are simple so I can get the satisfaction of crossing them off. Sure I get things done, but the real stuff doesn’t get touched. The real stuff is the hard stuff, the stuff I avoid because it’s difficult and I’m terrified. I’m terrified of what I’ll face when I finally choose to look. The problem is that we can’t get to the greatness of life without taking a good look at what scares us most.
So, find out what fears you hold onto that keep you from doing the things you want and do your damn best to move through them. Now, maybe I shouldn’t be the one preaching about moving past fear since I’m the biggest scaredy cat you’ve ever known, but maybe being scared makes me uniquely qualified to say f*ck fear. Holding onto it has done me no good and it’ll do you no good either.
Spring is on its way, now’s the time to come out from behind the big monsters we feed with our fear and step into the life we want.
I think I have time for it today, just let me check my planner…