Quote of the Day

Here we are at the beginning of another work week and another Quote of the Day. I bet if I asked you for a list of tasks you cannot do on your road to making change you would have no problems filling volumes with all the things you cannot do. Also, I bet that if I asked you what you can do that you are likely to struggle to create any sort of meaningful list. Why is it that when we set out to accomplish something it is always easier for us to see our limits, boundaries and hurdles? For me, it is part of my all-or-nothing mentality. I don’t like only doing a small piece of something, even though I know that I will have more success by doing so. It is so easy for me to look around and see people that have succeeded in pursuits that I am desperately struggling with. I see them and I get caught up in all the aspects to their current circumstance and see with absolute clarity all the places where I see myself lacking. What I had to come to understand was that I’m focusing on the wrong opponent. See, my challenge to be a better me isn’t evaluated by measuring it against the path of someone else. Just because their destination is similar doesn’t mean our paths are anywhere near the same. See, when I measure myself against someone else I always come up wanting. When I measure who I am today against who I was yesterday I can see the growth. I find it easier to see the things I am capable of now that I wasn’t before. I had to stop looking outwardly for my challenger and my value. I had to find them inside myself. My opponent, my toughest most ruthless opponent is the same scruffy mug staring back at me in the mirror. The other thing that has been helpful at this stage was to acknowledge that, again, just because my destination is similar to someone else’s our paths to get there are not the same. It is my life, and while I can see another person’s path, I can’t walk another person’s path. I have to walk my own, which means finding my own pathway through the wilderness. The last thing that has been helpful is to realize that when I see someone else, I am peeking through a keyhole at a snapshot of where they are now. What that image doesn’t show is the hard work, dedication, sacrifice or struggle that has lead their path into view in that moment. What my quick glance doesn’t show me are the early mornings, the late nights, the hours spent struggling, fighting and toiling to get to that point. It reminds me of watching the Olympics. When you see the medal ceremony or even the event we never assume they got to that place by luck or destiny. We look at those athletes on the podium and have no problems envisioning all the hard work, the training and all they had to overcome to be in that moment. Yet, in the day-to-day we forget that the same rules apply. Take the opportunity of today and make sure that what you can’t do right now stops you from doing all that you can. Have a blessed day, y’all! Stay safe, stay dry and enjoy another beautiful day.

Don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do
Royal red silk damask wallpaper.