Take the time to take a good hard look at where you are today, and where you want to be in the future.
You are here, yet you want to be there. Your children are here, and you’d like to guide them there.
What is stopping you from being in your ideal situation right now? Whether you want to lose weight, stop yelling at your children, find Mr. Right, or leave Mr. Wrong, you keep looking at a goal that you have not yet achieved.
Let’s explore why not.
Try this experiment: Simply fold your arms across your chest. Notice which arm is above the other, where your hands touch your elbows, and how effortlessly you were able to position your arms.
Now, it is time for the change: Uncross your arms, and re-fold them across your chest, this time the opposite way. That’s correct, if your right arm crossed over the center of your left arm, then place your left arm above the right. And vice versa.
I have seen rooms filled with people laughing and twisting their arms in awkward directions, in an attempt to fold their arms in the opposite manner!
If changing the way in which you cross your arms is an uncomfortable, unnatural process, we can glean some wisdom as to the dynamics of human beings experiencing change.
Staying in the same position is more comfortable than changing positions. Thus, we can find marathon runners who use the remote control to switch the channels, instead of walking across the room. They do not dislike walking; they simply want to remain comfortable.
Therein lies the secret of achievement; the ability to acknowledge and understand that the changes you will undergo will be uncomfortable. Denying yourself the usual chocolate treats, in order to reach your ideal size, is not a pleasant sensation for your taste buds. Forgoing a shopping trip in order to spend the afternoon with your child, may not be as relaxing a way to spend your free time. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten after your child’s explosion will require genuine emotional fortitude, instead of blowing up in the manner of the old habit.
When you understand that making changes will involve some discomfort, even some pain, and you are ready to embrace the positive long-term changes along with the negative short-term changes, then you become unstoppable.
It is not education, socio-economic status, gender, nor ethnicity which will propel you towards success. Your dreams, and ultimately your children’s dreams, will be realized because of your newfound perspective. It is the courage in your heart to overlook the heavy weight of the boxes you are carrying that will move you towards your goals, since you know that there are diamonds to be found within them.
Go ahead and begin a change in your life. Write it down, and share the goal with your friends. Embrace the discomfort, cross your arms, and proceed resolutely towards success.
And when you achieve your goal, and meet someone on the road to making changes, ask them to cross their arms, and inspire them with the courage to succeed!
