However the Reward is Sweet

With so many things on our to do list it can feel daunting to add one more, especially when it is something we think we cannot do. It feels like a mental block, a locked door, an impossibility as if nothing could make us imagine being able to do that thing. So we push it aside and give it no more thought. Some time later it pops back up and reminds us that it is still waiting. And we feel all those same emotions again – it’s impossible, too hard, too difficult, too much and we shove it back down.

Then the moment arrives when that thing springs back onto our plate and we stop. We think, we face it squarely and wonder, what if I did actually want to do this thing? What would it mean? How could we do it? And then we begin the thinking process. How would we break this thing into smaller bites, smaller segments in order to accomplish the goal. All along our inside voice is telling us to stop the madness and give up.

One step, two steps, three steps and before we know it we are moving forward towards doing that thing we thought was impossible. That I can’t do it item has become an I am doing it item. As the finish line draws closer, after more than a few set backs, we begin to see that this one will be done. We feel stronger, we act more confident and something has changed simply because we dared to think that we might be able to do it. What once was a cannot has become an item crossed off the list leaving more room and confidence for that next I can’t do it item.

Life has milestones and progress markers, most of which are reached through small steps. Life isn’t about gigantic leaps it is about daring to believe and THINK that maybe, hopefully, probably this can be done. Most cannot items are really fear wrapped in an illusion of difficulty, like sticky caramel wrapped in old paper. Sure it can be messy to unwrap however the reward is sweet once you get it all done.