Look carefully at what you believe is stopping you.
Is it really standing in your way…
or have you simply stopped walking toward it?
Sometimes the greatest obstacle isn’t in front of us.
IT IS THE DOUBT WE CARRY WITH US.
Anything you genuinely set out to do begins with something we practice every single day.
We decide.
Then we DO.
Get dressed.
Drive somewhere.
Make a phone call.
Prepare a meal.
Fix something.
Learn something.
Solve something.
We don’t marvel at these accomplishments because they have become ordinary.
But look again.
The mechanism is already working.
You decide something needs doing and then put yourself in motion until it gets done.
Why should that basic life mechanism suddenly disappear merely because the dream gets BIGGER?
WE WERE NOT PUT HERE TO BE DEFEATED
I have said this many times because I believe it bears repeating.
We were not put here to be defeated.
That doesn’t mean everything will be easy.
It doesn’t mean every dream automatically comes true exactly as imagined.
And it certainly doesn’t mean life owes us whatever we demand.
It means we were wonderfully equipped to MEET life.
Think.
Learn.
Adapt.
Try.
Fall.
Rise.
Change direction.
Try again.
That is some serious equipment.
Before declaring something impossible, take inventory of what you already possess.
PRIDE, EGO AND OTHER THINGS…
Blaming others and manufacturing excuses are robbers in disguise.
They rob something more valuable than money.
They rob POSSIBILITY.
Why?
Because the moment I decide somebody else completely controls whether I can move forward, I have handed them my rudder.
There may absolutely be obstacles.
There may be unfairness.
There may be people who refuse to help.
Doors close.
Circumstances change.
Money runs short.
Plans fail.
That is LIFE presenting conditions.
But conditions and conclusions are two different things.
The condition may say:
NOT THIS WAY.
That doesn’t necessarily mean:
NOT AT ALL.
ONE REAL CAPTAIN PER SHIP
We have been talking about the Captain quite a bit lately.
There is a reason.
Eventually you have to take the rudder.
Advice is welcome.
Help is wonderful.
Good counsel can save years of mistakes.
But when your conscience, ability and opportunity come together and something inside says GO…
somebody has to move the ship.
That somebody is YOU.
ACTIVATE YOUR PERSONAL POWER
Something interesting happens when a person decides to rise above present circumstances.
RESISTANCE APPEARS.
Suddenly there are complications.
Doubts.
Delays.
Criticism.
Unexpected problems.
Things don’t unfold according to the beautiful little movie we played inside our heads.
MMM?
Maybe something is wrong.
Or…
maybe something is finally MOVING.
I have learned not to automatically interpret resistance as a stop sign.
Sometimes resistance simply tells me:
YOU ARE PUSHING AGAINST SOMETHING NOW.
RESISTANCE SIGNALS GROWTH
Exercise provides a wonderful illustration.
A muscle develops by being required to do something beyond its comfortable resting condition.
Resistance enters.
Effort follows.
Adaptation occurs.
Life does something similar to us.
Patience isn’t developed when everybody behaves exactly as we want.
Courage isn’t developed when nothing frightens us.
Perseverance isn’t developed when everything works the first time.
Faith isn’t developed because everything can already be seen.
Some of our finest qualities require resistance before they have an opportunity to announce themselves.
The obstacle may therefore be doing more than standing in your way.
It may be introducing you…
TO YOU.
WATCH THOSE THOUGHTS
The mind is an extraordinary servant.
But watch it when it becomes a fortune teller.
WHAT IF I FAIL?
WHAT IF THEY SAY NO?
WHAT IF I LOSE?
WHAT IF I’M EMBARRASSED?
WHAT IF IT DOESN’T WORK?
Fair questions.
But there is another question sitting quietly nearby:
WHAT IF IT DOES?
And another:
WHAT WILL I LEARN IF IT DOESN’T?
Now we are getting somewhere.
DON’T CONFUSE THOUGHT WITH REALITY
A thought about failure is not failure.
A fear of rejection is not rejection.
Imagining embarrassment is not embarrassment.
Thinking something will be difficult is not actually DOING the difficult thing.
We can suffer an entire imaginary journey without leaving the chair.
Come back into the moment.
What can you actually do…
RIGHT NOW?
Make the call?
Write the first paragraph?
Walk the first mile?
Ask the question?
Submit the application?
Learn the skill?
Save the first dollar?
Then do THAT.
Tomorrow can wait its turn.
DREAMS GIVE BIRTH
Look around you.
Nearly everything made by human hands existed in some form before it existed materially.
Somebody imagined.
Wondered.
Experimented.
Attempted.
Failed.
Modified.
Attempted again.
The chair.
The telephone.
The automobile.
The airplane.
The computer.
The building you’re sitting in.
Somebody eventually put LEGS on an idea.
That is the difference between dreaming and creating.
Dreams can introduce us to possibility.
ACTION introduces possibility to the world.
PUT LEGS ON YOUR DREAM
I like that expression.
PUT LEGS ON IT.
Don’t merely admire your dream.
Give it something to do.
One phone call.
One meeting.
One page.
One lesson.
One experiment.
One hour.
One honest attempt.
You don’t need to possess the entire road before taking the first step.
Most worthwhile journeys reveal themselves while being traveled.
THE CHILD ALREADY KNEW THIS
Remember being a child?
Children don’t need a five-year strategic plan to investigate something interesting.
WHAT’S THAT?
Off they go.
They touch.
Look.
Ask.
Try.
Sometimes they fall down.
Then something magnificent happens.
They get back up.
The failure usually doesn’t become an identity.
It becomes INFORMATION.
Maybe adulthood could use a little more of that.
FAILURE IS NOT YOUR NAME
Something failing does not make YOU a failure.
There is a tremendous difference.
An attempt failed.
A method failed.
Timing failed.
An assumption proved wrong.
Wonderful.
Now you know something you didn’t know before.
That information has value.
Use it.
Modify.
Adjust.
Continue.
Life is one giant learning curve and we are all students whether we admit it or not.
THE REAL QUESTION
Perhaps instead of asking:
WHAT IS HOLDING ME BACK?
Ask:
WHAT IS MY NEXT STEP?
That question changes everything.
The first question looks for the jailer.
The second looks for the door.
SEEK…ADVENTURE…LIVE
Adventure and exploration were never intended to remain entirely inside the mind.
They may BEGIN there.
But eventually life says:
COME SEE.
That’s the invitation.
You don’t have to conquer the entire world today.
You don’t have to prove yourself to everybody.
You don’t even have to know exactly where this journey ends.
You simply need enough courage for the next honest step.
FINAL THOUGHT
There may be obstacles in front of you.
There may be resistance.
There may be closed doors, delays and disappointments.
But don’t automatically convert an obstacle into a verdict.
Sometimes the roadblock means:
TURN.
Sometimes it means:
WAIT.
Sometimes it means:
LEARN.
And sometimes…
it simply means:
PUSH.
Listen carefully.
Trust what you know is right.
Put legs on the dream.
And when life opens the door…
WALK THROUGH IT.
Seek.
Adventure.
Explore.
LIVE.
Let it be so…..
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you