I love that my work gives me the
opportunity to talk and interact with so many women. Because talking to women
is just about my favorite thing in the history of forever! I love hearing their
stories. Whether that story is about where they are now, where they’ve been or
where they are going, it always fascinates me. Of course, the best stories are
those that are upbeat and positive. That doesn’t mean those people have lived a
charmed life. More often than not, it’s exactly the opposite. They are the
stories of how women turned ordeals into adventures and turned trials in triumphs.
They took setbacks and turned them into set ups for bigger and better things.
Those people are my heroes. They are my inspirations and they empower me beyond
description.
The saddest stories I hear,
interestingly enough, are not the ones that share horrific, devastating details
of illness, death or life shattering events. But rather it is those from people
who, unbeknownst to even themselves, have chosen to live a mediocre life. They
get themselves into a rut, anchor down and refuse to see past the dirt walls
that entomb them. And the really interesting thing is that they don’t realize
that they chose to live that life.
I decided to step back and try to
understand the difference from these two groups of people I so often encounter.
It became very apparent that economics had very little to do with it. Just as
many of what I’d call “well off” people struggled with the same things as those
who were challenged financially. And I found just as many energized happy
people who lived paycheck to paycheck as I found people living in the lap of
luxury who described their life as boring, miserable and unfulfilled.
Bottom line, here is what I learned. Mediocrity
doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of decisions we make over a period of
time. We are what we settle for. And, let’s face it, even though past choices
we made probably seemed like the right thing to do at the time, things change.
And at any given moment, we’re always one decision away from a totally
different life. But we must be willing to change and see the cup as half full
and not half empty.
It’s easy for us to come up with
excuses around why we don’t or can’t change. Time and money are good ones. But
don’t we define what is important by what we dedicate our time
and resources to? Could we work harder, get up earlier, or stay up later? Could
we shun our mobile devices or turn off the TV? Could we, gasp, cut back on retail therapy or fancy lattes???
The challenge is deciding what is
really important and then go for it. Keep your eyes on the goal of what you
want your life to look like and feel like. Once you understand that happiness
is s state of mind and not a place or destination, you’ll realize the journey
is a lot easier than you thought. And once you muster the passion to take
charge and broaden your horizons to encompass those things, nothing will stand
in our way. You’ll live a life that is not only worth living but one worth
loving as well.
You’ll find that the process will
affect others too. When you are bubbling with the excitement of life it’s hard
for anyone to be a “Debbie Downer” around you. Becoming who we were always
meant to be and living a life of fulfillment empowers those around us. More
often than not, our evolution inspires others to reach for their own happiness,
lean on others less, and blossom wildly in the process. By raising the bar on
our own life, we raise that bar in the lives of others too. As they watch our
success, they reach for their own potential as well. Our decision to go for it
very well may be exactly the change our circle of influence needs to make life
better not only for ourselves… but everyone around us.
Go ahead. Take the chance. The possibly
of an incredibly wonderful life awaits you.
