Start Where You Are

Do you dream of helping the world, creating a fulfilling career, becoming wealthy, finding your twin flame? Do you long for a passionate life, filled with daily delight, and promise yourself you will create it someday?

I’d like to offer a radical invitation: make today that day.

Many of us (myself included) fall victim to the “one day when” type of thinking, where we assume we can create amazing lives for ourselves…just as soon as we {lose 20 pounds} {find our dream careers} {meet our soulmates} {pay off our debt} {get promoted} {have children} {get out of a terrible relationship} {save the money} {insert your goal here.}

The problem is not having the goal – the problem is the delusional thinking that once you have achieved the goal, “everything will be better.”

There is no end point to our desires and goals. There is no scenario that truly ends as “once I do this, I will be satisfied.” The most successful people on the planet…keep working. They don’t stop and sit on a beach all day. The greatest humanitarians achieve unbelievable change…and keep working towards more.

As long as you are human, you will have desires. Desires move us forward in life, drive our creativity, and influence all of our decisions. I am still embracing this idea – there will be no point in my life when I’m “done” – that point will come at my death.  (Maybe – who knows what is next!) In that case, there is absolutely no point in waiting until {insert goal here} to do anything at all.

To me, that calls for a radical refocus of our lives:

Stop focusing on the goal – focus on making the process delightful, delicious, joyful & fun. (Tweet it!)

In the end, all we ever have is the process – life is the process. The minute you achieve a goal, the next one is born.

My mother has written a book in the last year. That was the sum total of her goal when she started – to write a book and self-publish it.

She leaned all about writing, wrote endlessly, completed the book, and decided she was not self-publishing. Now she is going to rewrite it as a bestseller, to be picked up by a major publishing house.

I have no doubt that she will do exactly that. But, in the end, it doesn’t even matter. What matters is the hours of delight she created for herself, the challenges she met and faced, the learning she did, the hours we spent discussing her characters over dinner, the support and cheerleading she received from her friends.

So what about you? Are you willing to create the life you always wanted today, even if none of your goals are fulfilled yet? Are you willing to focus on the process, and let the goals be wonderful milestones on a beautiful journey?

Leave a comment and share one step you will take to make the process joyful and fun.

Want a little extra help in bringing passion and delight to your everyday life? Check out Rekindle Your Passion, my new, affordable 30 day e-course designed to help spark your passion in concrete ways each day.