Start From Where You Are

January 12th, 2012   •   Comments Off on Start From Where You Are   

We are all somewhere. We often want to be somewhere else. 

Whether it’s a time from the past that we miss or a place in the future, we are often positive that it would be better than here. 

Jeff and I have noticed that our conversation often drifts to retirement years. What do we want to do? We have clear pictures of what we don’t want, but the vision for what we do want is blurry. It doesn’t stop us from continually talking, wondering, and dreaming.

We generally snap ourselves back to reality, “We don’t even know if we’ll be here tomorrow.” The conversation can be fun, but at some point, it’s not all that practical. It can be draining.

All we have is the present. Now. We can spend so much time worrying or dreaming about the future that we miss the life we have now. I don’t want to do that.

Yes, planning matters. It’s responsible. It’s what adults do. However, there’s a point when the planning needs to stop and living needs to start.

When people are stuck in a place that they don’t want to be, the first step is to accept their current reality. This is the reality. It might suck, but this is it. Denying it, ignoring it, or fantasizing about it just delays the pain of seeing it.

This is the place where I am. Whether it’s my own choices, the choices of others, or situations that have just happened. It is what it is.

Accept where you are. You don’t have to like it, celebrate it, or understand it. It’s where you are. If it were so easy to change, you already would have. Accept it.

Decide your next step. Prepare or plan as you need to. Take it. Repeat as needed.