Have you ever wondered if you are missing out? If you should be doing more? Have you ever considered the fact that you are exactly where you need to be? This is called happenstance.
I have been mulling this over as I have been practising gratitude this month. So I have talked about being grateful even when things are tough. I think it is more than that, however. Sometimes we need to understand that we are in exactly the right place on our journey. When you are wearing your ‘gratitude goggles’ then it easier to see the things to be grateful for. By seeing what we are grateful for then we can see that each experience shapes our journey and without it then we would have missed out.
It’s all a journey
Whether you are setting out to rediscover yourself, or setting up a business, or finding a passion or building a relationship – it doesn’t matter. It is all a journey. It all takes time, patience, experimentation and most of all a willingness to do it anyway. Of course, there will be things that block your way (often your own thoughts!) and other things will come up but these are not excuses, they are experiences to learn. They are things to be grateful for. When you reflect on a given situation, even if it felt rough at the time there is almost always a lesson. An opportunity to learn and make positive changes for next time.
If you feel like you are stuck in treacle and can’t move forward it’s time to say thank you and to reflect. Find out what’s blocking you, perhaps a limiting belief you are holding. Ask yourself where you are stuck, where you are feeling the issue (physically/mentally/emotionally) and what you can do to move forward. Perhaps you need support from someone else?
Feeling stuck is a good thing!
I always get a bit excited on the inside when someone tells me they are feeling stuck – as this is often a sign that a breakthrough is imminent. Remember that no one’s story is just a beginning and an end. You are still in the middle of your story, still in charge of the successes and failures ahead of you. The opportunities available belong to you, they are not someone else’s to take. We can’t anticipate what exactly is going to happen, but we can control how we react to where we are, even when we haven’t met our own expectations. That reaction, if it comes from a place of being grateful will be a much more positive experience than if it doesn’t.
You’re always, always, always going to be on the way to something more. Always. And when you relax and accept that, and stop beating yourself up for not being someplace that you’re not, and instead, start embracing where you are while you keep your eye on where you want to be – that’s when life becomes really, really, really fun. – Abraham Hicks