Xo,
Let’s talk about the killing power of “someday”.
“Someday” sounds nice. Kind of hopeful and daydreamy, right? And sometimes those hopeful daydreams serve us well.
But many times…they don’t.
As long as our dream lies in the someday realm…”I’m going to”, “I plan on”, “I will”, “I hope to”….we don’t have to take action.
Our brain can comfortably set aside our dream and any need to work on it NOW…because we’re going to do it later.
It’s the sneakiest trick our brain plays because it lulls us into a false sense of accomplishing what we want. My brain has done this a million times!
As long as we can tell ourselves tomorrow…or next week…or after the holidays…or when things slow down and we aren’t as busy or stressed (or whatever other wonderful excuse it can come up with), we give ourselves permission to put it off and do nothing NOW.
Our brain says “We don’t need to do anything yet, because we’re “going to”…remember?”
And we think…”yeah….I’m GOING to! That feels good. No need to take action today.”
And we go back to our comfort zone and back to what we know and keep doing or avoiding the same things that got us to the place we are right now.
As long as your dreams lie in the “someday/going to” realm, they never become reality!
So be on to your brain.
The survival part of our brain doesn’t want us to work. It doesn’t want us to change. It doesn’t want us to be uncomfortable and couldn’t care less if we grow. It only cares about what feels good and comfortable right now.
Its job is to keep you alive and it does it well.
YOUR job is to recognize where your complacency is coming from, then make a decision to take that dream of yours…the thing you want, hope and wish for…and make it real.
The Next Right Thing
Ask yourself…”what’s ONE thing I can do today to move the needle towards my dream? Even in a small way?”
If your brain offers “I don’t know”, then your one thing is to brainstorm a list of how you could find out. If you DO know and have an idea of where to start, then write a list of what those things are.
Pick ONE thing on your list and decide when you’ll do it. It can’t be “soon” which is what your brain will offer. This is another version of “someday”. Decide when. What day and time? How many minutes will you work on it?
This becomes your Next Right Thing.
Now, tuck your list away in a place you can go back to, and just write on a piece of paper your ONE next right thing. This one thing you’re going to do. Not dream about, think about and contemplate, but DO. No matter how small it is.
Even if you’re moving slowly…you’re moving!
Keep Driving!
Moving towards your dream is like driving towards your destination on a foggy night. You can’t SEE your destination, you can’t see more than three feet in front of your car! But the road is there and your three feet are enough.
Your lights will shine on the next three feet, and as you trust and follow it, the next three feet will appear. This is your next right thing. Focus on your next three feet, and what to do after that will unfold. It will be shown to you.
The difference between two people getting to their destination or not on that foggy journey, is that one of them keeps going…no matter how slowly…and the other decides to pull over and wait.
The problem with waiting is, many times when we’re accomplishing something we’ve never done before, the fog doesn’t lift. We’re not sure how or IF we can do it because it’s new to us. The path is unknown. The light doesn’t come and the fog doesn’t lift until we’ve been brave enough to keep driving through the night. To trust in an end we couldn’t see.
Whether your dream is as big as overcoming your carb addiction or as small as cleaning out the front closet, if you have the true DESIRE for something, you’ve also been given the ability to accomplish it.
You may not see it or feel it now, but it’s in you. All you have to do is decide your someday is today and start moving.
