Monday, December 14, 2015

Stopping and Starting



Not again! That ought to have been my response. During these last few years, in a story way too complicated to layout here, I've been facing a move a year. Every time you move, it takes a month to pack up and three to six months to get reoriented. The more you move, the more psychically exhausting the disruption is. If you are a freelance writer, it becomes difficult to maintain the thread of creativity. Too much brainspace is spent in finding things, developing new routines and the complications that come from reestablishing oneself in a new environment. No moving truck was going to do me and my goals and dreams and calling in!
Image result for moving trucks images

For whatever reason, I have developed an untenable agreement with myself to keep making small strides of progress no matter what.

How did I do it? What are the benchmarks of success in moving life forward when faced with obstacles?
First of all, acknowledge the impediments.
 

Maybe you are being forced to slow down a bit. Divide your goals into smaller pieces so your rate of success is the same. There might be a gatekeeper in your life, someone who is determined to sabotage your best efforts. Make your work more invisible, keep your projects private. While doing that, move yourself out of the line of fire.

It might be there's someone who needs your help. Set your special dream up in such a way that it gives you refueling after caregiving or assisting whoever it is that needs it.

Perhaps the project itself has thrown a rock in the gears. Revamp, redesign, reframe.

In all of these practices, I found if I kept the energy and passion I had for my endgame, I could devise ways to adapt the steps of moving forward in any way I needed. Eventually, I was able to put together the small successes in a larger package.

Life rarely moves smoothly. By spending my focus on keeping what I could going ahead, I experienced success that encouraged more achievement.

Each determined move brought more opportunities for larger success.

Secondly, go through things the way it's healthy for you to do it. If you need extra sleep, work smarter during the times you are awake. If you need to lower the bar or adjust your timeline, stay calm. Adjusting is not failing. Create healthy diversions from the stress of having to recreate your plan. Stay present in your own experience of life. Avoid auto pilot. Do something for someone else. It keeps your heart soft and gives you perspective on your own challenges.

Life is rarely a smooth adventure. Change can challenge your comfort zones in ways that keep you fresh and creative.  Mostly, you will find a bend in the road, not a dead end.
Creatively engaging with diversity brings new adventures that will add to your life, your character, integrity and your opinion of yourself. You're stronger than you think, if you keep starting after stopping!
Love,
Deborah