“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”
Victoria Holt
A Time Of Reflection
I know that it’s a busy time of year but it’s more important than ever to think about something for a minute.
Reflect on all those instances in your life when you learned the most valuable lessons and accomplished the greatest goals.
Was it an easy task?
Did the finish line “magically appear” or were you sweating, jumping hurdles and a bit discouraged when you finally got there?
The funny thing is, that most of us forget is that the journey is supposed to be hard. It’s when we experience this “life lesson boot camp” is preciously the time when we explore and learn the most about our character and our faith. The hard part is, this is exactly the time when we quit. When times get tough and we are getting tired of the “test”, many times it’s just easier to put our arms up in the air and give up.
Holiday Stress and Unrealistic Expectations
During this time of year, this can especially be true. The holidays can cause us to create unrealistic expectations of ourselves based on childhood dreams. These dreams could have been a form of escape back in the day from our not so great lives when we were children. Now that we are adults and those dreams may or many not have come true, it’s like we give ourselves a “holiday reality check” that can lead to disappointment with ourselves and to those around us.
Now, I am writing this to give you another holiday reality check.
Listen to me loud and clear.
“Don’t give up the fight.”
Now Is the Time To Put Up Your Dukes
Yes, as a matter of fact, it is a fight.
It’s a fight against those little self-doubt gremlins that appear, especially when you are tired and feeling down, who want to discourage you from being the best you can be at this very moment. This can mimic the little devil and angel scenario that we have seen in movies and cartoons. Imagine that times 20 when we are feeling tired, despondent, discouraged and worn out. That is what happens to us, especially during the holidays when New Year’s is around the corner and we can most definitely feel our most emotional vulnerable.
If you are prone to self-criticisms and beating yourself up when you don’t achieve a goal, hope or dream, be careful when January 1st rolls around.
Instead of adding fuel to the fire and creating a cocktail for a self-bashing session, turn it around. Shift the way you think to gear up for a better year for 2011.
Try Something Different for 2011
This year, make a list of the things that you have achieved, no matter how small. I don’t care if you have to list that you didn’t forget to bring your garbage out to the street every Tuesday. I mean it. Start to recognize your self worth and the fact that you DO achieve things on a daily, weekly and annual basis.
The key is to choose to see them.
Congratulate yourself on overcoming obstacles in the past. Remember what it took to fight the good fight and put those tools in your back pocket as a means of embracing this New Year.
Why You Don’t Want a Silver Platter
Remember – it’s not about having your goals handed to you on a silver platter (no matter how much you may fantasize about that!). If that were the case, you virtually would learn nothing. For each time you climb a mountain or endure a hardship, you have learned a method and have uncovered a strategy that will help you do that again in the future.
It’s about learning from your past (notice the times when you rose to the challenge), embracing and accepting your present (think, “I can do this no matter where I am in my life”) and know that you can do this again in the future (be optimistic, hopeful and eager to rise to the challenge again)
Enjoy the holidays and look forward to a New Year. You are strong, capable, and worth the blood sweat and tears that it may take to go for the gold this year. Don’t give up the fight when you are haunted about past insecurities and fears about goals that may have went to the wayside in the past.
Bumps Build Character and Prepare You for the Future
Look at all those bumps in the road and hurdles you need to jump as a means of getting closer to your hopes and dreams. They are opportunities in disguise. So put your seat belt on and know the journey is supposed to be bumpy. All you have to do is know, believe and look forward to those smoother paths. Oh, and don’t forget one more thing -enjoy the ride because that truly is the best part.
