I just finished creating my newest advertisement in the national healthy living magazine Natural Awakenings (you can pick them up free at libraries, health food stores, my office, etc.).
Most of my ads have a theme, and not just a logo and a phone number. This is what the new ad says:
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So many of us want change in our lives. We want (or need) things to be different, we want them to be better.
And while it’s true that things can turn out better than we ever imagined, the magic step to getting what we want isn’t what we often think it might be.
It isn’t a plane ticket out of here, a mega-million dollar win, or a pill to make us happy again.
It’s much quieter and arrives with much less fanfare.
The magic step to getting what we want begins with the deep acceptance of our current predicament.
It is only after we come to grips with it, facing and accepting our reality, that we have the freedom to move forward.
We have to find out where and what we really are through this journey. Without fear, without flailing.
Only then can we be free to dream and begin again, finding our way home as always, by putting one foot in front of the other.
—
It’s 8 lines long and it took me thrashing around for the better part of 10 hours.
I sat down at least 5 different times after breaks.
I took a nap. I took a walk. I had a snack. I played a game on my phone. I checked my email. I got the real mail. I changed a light bulb. I did some laundry. I thought of approximately 7,324 things that I needed to add to my perennial to-do list.
Somehow, I also managed to push some keys on my keyboard and some words showed up on my screen.
I wrote around 1200 words in total.
I felt like I was giving birth to most of them individually.
I obviously used a fraction of what I had written.
Today was not a flow day for me. Some days are and some days aren’t, like today.
Maybe you can relate.
There are times and situations in everyone’s life that take an extra dose of umph to get something done.
For you, maybe it’s starting a daunting de-cluttering project. Maybe it’s having a difficult conversation with your boss or your spouse or your child. Maybe it’s getting out the door to go to the gym.
It could be a thousand things.
You could be needing to leave a job or a relationship. You could be starting a heart-led business or feeling the call of service. You could be struggling in your finances.
All of these situations can be sticky, in fact far stickier than having to sit and write some words like me.
They will take work, they will take patience, and diligence, and a willingness to keep showing up. A readiness to fall and stand up again, to fail and keep trying.
But if these things are worth it, we persevere and get them done anyway.
We accept where we are. We go easy. We don’t beat ourselves up. We allow instead of force. We rest. We try again in a new way. We keep on keeping on. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Sooner or later the work gets done.
I hope you take some time to enjoy the satisfaction once the job is finished.
As today’s post is fairly short, I’ll leave you with a little something that I salvaged from today’s scrap pile of words.
Maybe it will be of help to you if you find yourself needing a little extra push to get (or keep) you moving. I wrote it thinking about my clients who inspire me.
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In asking for help, they found their answers.
But not from outside – from the inside.
They kept their answers all along,
The keys to their cages,
Tucked safely inside.
Buried in the part that said,
“It’s hard, but it’s comfortable. We don’t like it, but we know it.”
Find that part inside and crack it open.
Be willing to see it.
Get your keys.
It’s time for you.
—
My best to you all, as always.