What is Waiting in the Wings of Your Life?
There is only so much time in a day, a week, a year. When we want to start something big, human tendency is to talk ourselves into the mindset of “we have time for it later.” Time to take that trip, build that house, start that business sometime later when things slow down. My husband and I often tell new parents “don’t blink,” because a newborn baby will be driving away to college before you know it. Living intentionally with your family by not missing that soccer game or dance recital will be more rewarding. Painting a picture of how you want your future self, your family, your business and your involvement in the community to look like 10 years from now is the beginning of making it come true. To dream about the future is a positive step, but making it a reality is the challenge. Often we write down our goals at the beginning of the year, a New Year’s resolution, then cast them aside only a few weeks later. In the case of 2020, many of us conveniently used the excuse of the pandemic not focus on what we really want in life. So my challenge to you is list all of the dreams you have waiting in the wings of your life.
Once your priorities are written down, determine why they are important to you. This is an important step in bringing your vision to life. If you do not know your why, the goal is easily put aside to wait in the wings or doesn’t move in the direction intended. A common failed New Years resolution is to lose weight. But if the why is because you want to be active with your children or grand children, your success rate will improve. If the why is to be healthy, the approach would very as well. Or if the why is to fit into that dress for a daughter’s wedding or high school reunion, a sense of urgency might be motivating. Spend some time soul searching for the things that are truly important to you by asking why.
Sometimes the priority is put aside because of fear. You might really want to start that new business, but are afraid to venture off the safe path you are currently on. Reasoning the economy is bad, COVID is preventing a start up, or there just isn’t enough time in the day as an excuse. But if you know your why and have the courage to brave your fears, you can tackle that dream. Our example is starting a Wagyu cattle herd with no experience in farming. What a BHAG (Big Hairy Ass Goal)! Fortunately my husband doesn’t know fear and since google is a wonderful thing, we are learning as we go along. The why is to preserve our beautiful historic family farm. It was necessary to make Belle-Hampton a sustaining business so it would be perpetuated for generations to come. Using your why to break through the anxiety is key to successfully obtaining your priority.
Once you have your dream list ranked with your whys answered, determine what is reasonable to do yourself (DIY) and what needs assistance to do. Asking for help can make the achievement possible. "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller. A knowledgeable and trained advisor can be the maestro of your priority list. Together you can determine what resources are needed to accomplish each objective, and the timing for action.
We are just a few short months away from the New Year, 2021. Most of us cannot wait until the end of 2020 with the COVID19 crisis, the riots and the political mayhem to name a few events from the year. But if your priorities were quarantined this year, it is time to relook at what has been waiting in the wings. Your why might be different now since you most likely have a different perspective on life. What dreams are waiting in the wings of your life?
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