2017 is here and just like for yourself it came with a list of goals I want to accomplish. Now that we are over two weeks into the new year I have already found myself behind on those goals. It is not for lack of trying but rather for lack of good health. Three days into the year I came down with a head cold that turned into a sinus infection that lasted two weeks. Add to that a minor surgery to my finger and I have found myself delayed in my goals. Life happens, absolutely, but delays because of life do not mean I will quit on my goals. It merely means I have been delayed.
I love movies, tv shows, reading books and fictitious stories, but as much as I enjoy them I do dislike them at times. While a good book, tv show or movie transports us out of our reality the danger comes when we try to make those fictional stories a reality. Specifically, when we think the ease and tidiness of life in fictional stories can and should be the norm in our life. This danger continues to become an increasing problem the more we blur the lines between fiction and reality. This is not a good thing.
Why is it such a danger? It gives us a false sense of how things should be, and when they go differently we do not know how to handle it. Life is going to happen. I had not planned on getting sick nor wanted to have the surgery but I did. You may not plan on being sandwiched in a three car wreck on the interstate but it happens. We may not think of planes being purposefully flown into buildings but it did happen. For the good or bad, life is going to happen. Life is not easy nor is it tidy, it is life. We need to start accepting that most of it is beyond our control.
When life does happen many times it interrupts what we had planned. Sometimes that interruption is small, sometimes it is rather large. Whether small or large we need to recognize that interruptions are not only possible but probable. This does not mean we do not plan for the future, both near and far, but when those interruptions happens our preparedness allows us to handle it better. And handling those interruptions better helps us get back on track of our goals sooner. For myself I can look back and see all kinds of interruptions life brought, from the minor to the major. I can see how they have delayed goals of mine. Sometimes those delays are short, others are still ongoing. Yet, whether those delays are short or long the goals remain – quitting is not something that is considered.
Life is going to happen and we all will be delayed in our goals at some point in our lives. It is inevitable so it is not a question of if it will happen but how will we handle it when it does. This is where the difference between people emerges. The difference is not in our circumstances but in our choices, it is not in our ability but in our endurance. It is my belief that we all have the ability to endure circumstances, to endure hardships, to push through interruptions and delays and life. No doubt, life is harder for some than others, but never quitting is something we all can do. It is our choice to quit or not, to endure or not, to push through and hold fast to our goals or not. There is no real trick other than digging in and not settling for less than what you can and should be.
There is no tidy, easy life. There never was and there never will be. The sooner we accept this truth the sooner we can start pursuing a more fulfilled life where goals are never given up on but continuously pursued, even into old age. Life happens, delays will come but never, ever, ever give up on your goals and dreams.
Attempt it. Chance it. Try it. Get to It!