W.O.R.K.

So this is another one that really hits home for me. I’ll go ahead and tell you now that I’m not great at putting in the work in areas that I probably need it the most. I suppose that makes me a work in progress…

We have all heard that anything worth having takes work. This is easy to understand in relation to monetary things. If you want to be financially successful, you will have to work. If you want the nice house, the nice car, the nice clothes – guess what. WORK.

Here’s where I got blindsided, and some of you may realize it’s the same for you – my own happiness and peace take WORK. Seriously, why this never crossed my mind earlier in life is beyond me. I’ve always given everything I have to any job I’ve been tasked with. I pride myself on my work ethic and my go-getter when it comes to actual jobs, paid or volunteer. Yet, I was never fully ok with myself. I never seemed to have a sense of fulfillment. Then it hit me (thanks to a small kick in the behind from my amazing cousin), I have to WORK at being the me that I want to be. My happiness is a result of my own effort at being happy. My peace has a direct connection to the amount of work I put in to being peaceful.  My attitude, either positive or negative, is the result of how much work (or lack of) I put into creating the attitude I want to have.

Here’s the wake-up call…

In order to become the person you want to be, you have to put in work. Work on yourself.

In order to have the life you want, you have to put in work. Work on your life.

Without ACTIVELY working on yourself, and your life, nothing will change. You will not accomplish the things you want for your life without putting in the work. I say ACTIVELY because let’s be honest, it’s one thing to post the positive saying every day – IT’S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THING TO ACTUALLY PRACTICE POSITIVITY. I’m guilty of this. I’m all about just ‘pretending’ to be the me I want to be, when in actuality, I’m still allowing outward circumstances and events to keep me from truly being the happy, positive, loving life person I want to be. I’m lying to myself if I think that just forwarding something positive in the morning will make me different. If I’m still angry at the world, or the day, or myself – I’m not ACTIVELY working on being better.

How do we do the WORK? Well, since I’m not actually an all-knowing being, I don’t have the answer for everyone. The WORK we must do is different for everyone. For me, it’s finding just one little reason to be happy for the day. I may have to do this multiple times throughout the day. When something not great occurs, I have to make myself find something to be happy about.  When I get sucked into the spiral of self-pity, I have to actively remind myself to find 1 thing to be grateful for each day. When I find myself passing judgement on a person or situation, I have to make myself choose to consider the circumstances and to be more compassionate and less judgmental.

The key here is to figure out who you want to be. Figure out what sort of life you want to have. Then create a working plan to achieve what you’ve decided you want for you. Be sure to remember this – YOU ARE NEVER ALONE IN THE JOURNEY. Find a group or a tribe – I can suggest a few – and be strong in yourself and ask for help when necessary.

Much Love!

#KindnessAlways #DontBeAnAsshat #DoYourWork