A Pause and One Thing for the Cause

It can be a struggle to keep going when things are not going your way. Life can be a bummer when nothing seems to be the way we want it to be. At these times I take a deep breath and evaluate my options. What is going well, what is not going well, and what could I do to make either of those things improve? Those are not always easy questions to ask ourselves, let alone to be honest with the real answer not just the one we want to provide. However, before quitting a pause for the cause can be just the thing to get everything back on track.

Whether we like it or not, we are in life where we have chosen to be. Don’t like where our life is heading, then make different choices. That may not mean drastic choices – quitting a job, a relationship, leaving town, or selling everything we own and moving to Tibet (even though that last one seems rather appealing at times!) Sometimes the choices begin with today. One thing, just one thing that will help improve today. Clean up, clear out, face the truth, or even ask for help. None of us know what will happen in the future, so let’s control what we can which is right now.

Today what one thing can you do to help improve today? Exercise, eat better, take a nap, talk to someone to gain perspective, tackle that simple project at work, or even just get a new haircut. Sometimes a small, simple step forward can change our perspective enough to help us make that next choice a better choice. One thing, that may be the ‘thing’ that helps us release the tension of today in order to help us think more clearly about where we want to be tomorrow. As Norman Vincent Peale reminds us, it is ALWAYS too soon to quit…so what can we do today to not give up on ourselves or our life by making drastic, life altering moves?

Maybe the best thing is to acknowledge what we don’t like, make a list, and let that list marinate before we start changing everything. One thing today may set enough energy in motion for us to see the light at the end of the tunnel is not another train. Instead of making quitting your first choice, why not make it your last opinion? And maybe today after doing one thing to make things better that last option moves much farther down the list.