As I sit here and think about what I want my very first blog post to be about, I’m suddenly very aware of 2 things about my personality: I strongly believe that everything in life happens for a reason, but I can also be incredibly inpatient and perhaps a little stubborn (if you ask my dad, he’d probably say verystubborn, but we won’t get stuck on a technicality!) It’s not the greatest combination of traits especially when you’re trying to work out what the reason for things happening in our life are! I cannot tell you how many times I’ve sat with blank pieces of paper and different coloured pens trying to work it all out.
I also am lucky enough to have a few friends who are just really great at giving advice. They let me entertain my drama for a while, then snap me out of it with level-headed, to-the-point, no nonsense advice that is delivered in a way that that makes me think, but also makes me just deal with the facts.
In a conversation with one of these friends recently, he used the following analogy that really seemed to resonate with me. ‘If you’re standing at the top of a snowy mountain and there is a snowball that is starting to form, don’t put your energy in to trying to roll the snowball back up the mountain; just get out of the way and let it do it’s thing’.
It such a simple concept and there was part of me that wanted to cut him off and say ‘I know, I know..’ (Probably with a bit of an eye roll, if I’m completely honest) but it was that visual that was so powerful that it made me stop and just sit for a few minutes with what he had said.
Sometimes in our lives, thing happen or opportunities present themselves differently to how we had imagined they would. Life throws us an unexpected curved ball (or kick starts the snowball) before we think were ready. This can catch us off guard and makes us question ourselves, our environment and those people in it. It makes us feel really uncomfortable and perhaps a little bit scared…or in some instances, completely terrified. This same friend of mine also thinks that we should (and I quote) ‘revel in the moment’ and I must say, I have to agree with him (although putting it into practice can sometimes be a little more of a challenge!).
How will we know what we are really capable of if we keep playing it safe all the time? It’s this level of uncomfortableness that let’s us know we are were chartering new waters and entering somewhere completely new. And I suppose, that’s kind of where the beauty lies.
One of my favourite quotes is ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough’. I’m not sure who said it (I’m sure Google will tell you), but again, it makes so much sense. We’re all put on earth for a reason, but so often we get stuck in the rut of our everyday lives that we forget to really live out our passion.
What’s that big (or small) dream of yours that’s been on hold? Maybe you’ve been thinking about changing jobs or want to start a new exercise regime. Perhaps you find yourself daydreaming about traveling or buying a property. Maybe you want to start a family or start your own business. Nothing is impossible and whilst you need to be smart about it and do your research and planning, here’s the biggest thing that I’ve learnt: there’s never going to be a right time.
We’re all really good at coming up with excuses as to why our dreams can wait, but is that really going to make us happy and give us the life we want? We’re all guilty of ‘excuse making’ and to be honest, we’ll probably continue to be from time to time, but next time you get thrown a curve ball, ask yourself ‘Am I trying to push the snowball back up the mountain?‘ Maybe this is how things are meant to be and it’s just time for you to get out of the way.
