One of my favorite insights on life comes from Golda Meir. When asked for her thoughts about her achievements and the role she played on a global stage, she offered this advice:
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.
Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
The power lies in the fact that we determine which achievements and which sparks to fan into those flames. There is the key – WE must decide. WE must do.
Here are three questions that can help you determine if you are on your own best personal path or if you have become a bit too comfortable in that easy chair of your life:
#1: When was the last time you tried something new?
Think about this for a moment. Do you always eat the same food? Listen to the same music? Read the same authors? Go to the same places? Spend time with the same people? If you aren’t exposing yourself to any new experiences, the rut is going to happen naturally. You’re going back and forth in a groove.
#2: How much are you learning and growing right now?
There is an unlimited curriculum in life for learning. What do you want to know that right now you don’t? Do you have a learning strategy that is aligned to your life strategy?
#3: When was the last time you took a REAL risk?
Has something happened in your life or work that has made you more risk averse? Perhaps the economy. Disappointments in relationships. Missed opportunities. When that happens, it can be like the first time we touch a hot stove – it’s pretty rare for us to go back again. We experienced something that didn’t pay off. The danger is that once we’ve started thinking in terms of risk we begin to see all risk the same. We’ve forgotten that risk itself has changed.
Not taking risks today is in fact the greatest risk. Are you employed and know your industry or function is in decline? Are you taking any risks to change your situation? Risk could mean investing $$’s in education; it could mean starting your own part-time business; it could simply mean facing your fears and going to a networking function and meeting new people. What we fear the most is usually what is in truth holding us back. Face the fear and remove the obstacle.
If any of these questions resonate with you, it is important to remember that you hold the power to break the barrier of that comfort zone.
There are only three things you need to do:
1) Decide you are ready for change
2) Decide where you want to start
3) Choose one action you can do NOW and BEGIN!
Once you are moving in the right direction, momentum will take over. The fresh energy you experience from changing one thing will also fuel other fires. The sparks will carry into every area of your life.
Live today like you want tomorrow to be. Live well.
