Just Go After It

The above title was something I came up with a while ago, to spur myself on to something new and different.

The title seems a little past due now, a little over and done with.

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But on second thought, maybe the title "Just Go After It" is spot on. Isn't that the way of things?

We harp on and on about what makes something difficult to do, or the reasons why we shouldn't do it, or the myriad different ways in which we could go about it.

In the end, just go after it.

That is the best advice I have ever given myself.

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Just Go After It

Now What? A Peek at What's Next

Now what?

I have made some changes, and now what? Now what do I need to do?

I need to write more. I need to share more. I need to create more. That is what I need to do.

And that is what I am doing right now.

I am constantly on the lookout for distractions. I find and embrace them. That is what I do.

But right now I am not going to be distracted.

Above there is a picture of something peeking above the horizon, showing itself, just a little bit, and working to reveal itself more and more.

That is what I am doing as well, working to reveal myself more and more.

I am uncovering new things and beliefs about myself, and I will be sharing them here.

One thing I have learned is that I am a creature of habit. And so I am trying to change some of my habits. I am learning that some of my existing habits are not good for me, and that I need to change.

I need to change.

I must change.

Getting to "must change" can be a long, long road. But that is where the action happens. Nothing happens when we might change, or could change, or god forbid, should change. Must change makes it happen.

Or not.

Just because I must change doesn't mean that I am going to.

But I do have a better shot at it. I have the potential to change now.

I had an earlier post about potential that showed that I am more interested in what actually happens as opposed to what could happen.

I still believe that. I still believe that what actually happens is more revealing, more telling, than what could happen. Especially what could happen and doesn't.

But it remains the truth that I now have the potential to change, at least more so before I arrived at the must change state.

There is a lot riding on this now, the fact that I need to and want to and can and must change.

What would happen if I don't make the changes that I seek in my life?

Deterioration.

What would happen if I do make the changes that I seek in my life?

Growth.

And so I will change, and continue to change as long as necessary, from now until I die.

Holding Back, Fear, Sharing, and Risk

I am going to try to write online instead of in my journals as much as possible.

What that is going to mean for you, the reader, is that there will be a decent amount of nonsense in the content. I will try to edit out as much of it as possible, but it will still come through.

What else that will mean for you, the reader, is that there will be more: much more writing, much more art, much more sharing and posting... If I can overcome the fear. If I can fear less.

The more I write online, the more I will share, because I will be bypassing a secondary filter I had established by putting my innermost thoughts in the physical pen and paper journal, as opposed to online.

I find that writing sessions come in fits and starts. But really, once I get started, the writing flows.

So, the more often I am able to put together a string of writing sessions, the better.

In some ways I have been holding back in my online writing. I have been afraid to be my complete self online in my writing. Why is that?

Well, there are many reasons.

I am afraid....

I will say something I don't mean
I will say something incorrect
I will make a mistake
I will share too much of myself
I will offend someone
I will limit myself
I won't know when to stop
I will get caught up in drama
I will get caught up in comments
I will get caught up in general
I won't make the time to create
I won't recover
I will be laughed at

These are some of my fears. Not all of them, but some of them.

But I have realized that I need to push past my fears and embrace who I naturally am. I need to be okay with who I am, faults, foibles and all, and get on doing the work I am destined to do.

I feel I am determined and destined to write as much as possible about myself and my life. I want to share myself with others. I want others to be able to learn something from my life. And the only way that others can learn from my life is if I share myself completely.

Do I know who I am completely enough to share myself fully? Probably not. So we will learn and grow together.

As you move through this journey of life, so will I, and we will hopefully share things with each other that prove to be useful and fruitful.

I am a frightened and scared individual, so afraid to make a mistake, that I take hardly any risk.

Well, this is the risk I am taking, to share that I am a frightened person, scared to take a risk. Perhaps I will take more risks as time moves along, and as I learn and grow as an individual.

For example...

I am afraid to quit smoking because I don't remember how I got along without cigarettes before I started smoking. I think I enjoyed my life a little more without cigarettes, but I really don't remember.

The only way I will be able to confirm that I enjoy life without cigarettes more than life with cigarettes, is to live a life without cigarettes. I must commit to that.

But I am afraid. I am afraid I will not be able to cope with the day if I don't have cigarettes to help get me through.

That is something I need to face, and that fear in particular is one I need to overcome.

I have taken the risk. There is a lot for me to learn. There is a lot that I am still learning. But mostly, I am still afraid. But I am taking action against my fears, trying to do and be better as I go along.

I can learn much by creating and sharing. I can learn about myself and about my own fears and issues surrounding fear.

Do we ever really avoid or eliminate the fear?

I am afraid. You might be afraid too. It is okay. We can be afraid together. And maybe we can figure out how to become courageous together as well.

The road to success is paved with potholes. Sometimes you miss them, sometimes you hit them. Either way, keep moving forward, keep traveling down that road.

Don't hold back.

Be fearless.

Share yourself.

Take the risk.

Enter the fray.

Start today.

The Secret of Change: Some Words of Encouragement

"The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." - Dan Millman (Socrates)

Do you want to change? Must you change? Focus then. Not on the past, but on the present and your dream of the future. Focus singularly on the tasks you have before you that will build the stepping stones to get you to where you want to be.

Keep doing that which makes you different. Not different from others, but different from the old you, different from who you used to be in the past, who you no longer are.

Keep building on the new you. Keep forging forward in the face of the onslaught of pressure to keep the status quo. There is no same, there is always a difference, and you are it.

Become that which you want to be. Embrace the changes that come with all the energy you expend on being who you truly are.

Do not look back. Move forward. Step sure-footed in the direction of your destiny. You may misstep, but you will learn from your mistake and correct your path.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi

Embody change. Become a changeling. Become a change ninja, able to adapt with the shifting of the wind, able to overcome your own limitations.

Embrace the new. Reach out and touch the future through the present. You are here, and now is the time. NOW is the time!

"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain." - Rick Godwin

What will change bring? Differences. Variety. Spice. Something new. Something unexpected.

Are you ready for change?

How can you ever be prepared for actions whose results you cannot predict?

Just be ready to be ready. Because change is coming. And you are going to bring it. You are going to bring the house.

So build the new. Build what you need to build. Make what you need to make. No one else is coming along to do it for you. It all lies with you.

"When we break, we'll wait for our miracle, God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life." - Jeff Mangum

Become the person you were born to be. Only you know who that is. Only you get to decide who you are. Make and become that person.

You are a winner. You are a changeling.  You are the sum and more of all your internal changes, and you are getting ready to explode into full bloom. Be there for your show, as you display the new you.

The secret of change is not a secret at all. Go out and make the changes you need to make. Become the person you are meant to be, whoever that might be.