Your Future Is In Your Hands!
At the start of each New Year I find myself doing a lot of reflecting and planning. Reflecting on the past, both personal and business. Reflecting on what did and didn’t work for me in the previous year. Planning what I will do this year to shake things up in all areas of my life. Planning ways to improve myself, my relationships, my business.
I loved this quote as soon as I saw it … “The past is in your head. The future is in your hands.” It is good to reflect on the past, but not to stay there. The future IS in our hands. We don’t have to stay in the same patterns, the same old way of doing things, getting the same results. We can make different decisions, take new actions, try new things.
I’ve been guilty of saying, “that doesn’t work for me”, “I’m not doing that”, “I’ve already tried that” when it comes to doing something different with my business (or, okay, fine, my life in general). A wise friend said something to me last week that stopped me in my tracks. She said that just because something worked for me or was manageable by me a year, three, or even 5 years ago doesn’t mean that I will get the same results or have the same experience or be able to handle it now. Not because there is anything wrong with me now, but because I am a different person than I was a year, three, and for sure five years ago.
Think about that for a moment. How many more things do you know, how many more experiences have you had, how many more things have you learned in the past year, three, five? There are things I would have tolerated then that I most certainly won’t now. There are things that didn’t work for me then, in part because I didn’t know what I know now, that very well may work today. There were also things that worked for me then, that won’t work for me now … because I know more, know better, am in a different place.
I’ve been frustrated since my surgery in the Fall that I seem to be struggling to accomplish as much, to produce as much, as I used to. I have always thrived with a frantic, busy pace, juggling multiple things at once. That doesn’t seem possible for me anymore, or at least right now. Or maybe it’s just not what I want for myself, my life, right now. The funny thing I have noticed since making this observation and giving myself more focused time on important priorities is that I am being very productive, and I’m doing it in a more intentional and “calm” way, if that makes any sense. What used to work for me doesn’t anymore, and that’s okay. So I’m giving myself (and you) permission to grant myself (yourself) grace. It’s okay for things to look different, to feel different. It’s okay to want different things. It is all of the experiences and changes that I have made over the years that have gotten me here, and more experiences and more changes will get me where I am going. What used to be was great, but I don’t want to relive those years over and over and over again. I want to grow and learn and try new things. This is where I am and what will get me where I am going, and that is a great feeling.
As a side note … did you notice the other day on my open house post that there were several group members (myself included) saying that open houses didn’t work work them? Is it possible that they didn’t work for us “back then” based on who we were and what we knew then, but armed with new information, new strategies and new experiences that now maybe they will? I think I’d rather take the gamble on myself than on paying someone else for leads.