In an recent interesting conversation, a person was sharing with me some of their regrets and what had stopped them from choosing differently in the moment. Fear & uncertainty were common threads through all of them.
A different situation poses a different restraint. When asking a person to walk with me for a mile, their answer quickly was “I can’t”. Their reasoning was they have never walked a mile. Never asking me as to the pace we would walk at.
At a non-profit committee meeting, three good ideas were shared that had promise. When asking for volunteers, no one raised their hand to help. Even though, their was not one dissenting opinion in the group. I could only assume that they felt that they had no time to spare for any of the ideas.
Perplexed by a situation, a friend shared with me an eloquent story as to why someone was behaving the way they did. Often confusing fact with opinion while believing strongly in their analysis. When asked why they don’t try to make the situation better, they quickly refer to their story showing the hopelessness of any future attempts. Without every talking to others to see if their story was even true. Searching for common ground to move forward.
What we confuse as insurmountable obstacles, is our focus on others and external circumstances. Ignoring our own laziness to put effort in to explore different things around us. Our mind stops us many times out of fear more so than laziness. Without realizing that with effort, new learning can occur making our fears subside.
We are much too quick to say no or give up without ever trying. Be careful the next time you rush to do this. It’s always our mind that builds walls around us to create rooms much smaller than we are worthy of. Bigger rooms for us to travel in are evidence that confirm our change and growth.
Often we forget that change and growth are hard because they always require effort. There is no way around this. Effort that may keep us from doing something else less important. Effort that has a timeline that is uncertain as to its completion. Making persistence and tenacity necessary to push through our mind’s imagined restraints into a world we often dreamed of.
Making the elimination of regret a goal worthy of your time and effort. Giving you the opportunity, to someday look back on your life and smile.