We love ambition. Striving for more, moving beyond our limitations, creating challenging goals and actually reaching them is our entire modus operandi. But what about what you already have?
There is some line of balance that exists between contentment with where you are, and desire to move beyond it. You may want more financial freedom, more power or authority, a happier home life, a sexier body, healthier habits…there are so many ‘wants’. Your ‘wants’ are psychologically valuable; they inform you of what steps you should be taking, where you should be focusing your energy. They are important; without desire for achievement, there cannot be the growth and learning that make up the meaning of your life.
But the fact is, you will not attain the mental energy to change without letting go of the drag of self-disapproval. It’s pretty paradoxical, but it’s true: in order to change your current state of being, you first have to love it. And I mean, really love it. You have to think about it like it’s awesome. I know it’s not easy, but the idea is to train your mind towards a default of *gratitude*.
We, each and every one of us, can practice mindfulness, an appreciation for this exact moment and the determination it took to get us here, for that same determination is what is going to propel you to and through the next steps towards your goals.
The action step for this idea is to treat every moment of struggle as if you had planned it for yourself; this idea will allow you to find the opportunity within struggle. Every decision you have made before now has brought you here. Every decision you make henceforth will take you somewhere, ideally, closer to your goals.
Embrace the abundance of today to set your mind on the goals of tomorrow.
It’s counter-intuitive to think so, but one of the first steps towards getting where you want to go involves truly accepting where you are. This is why acceptance and gratitude should be one of your highest priorities at every point at journey and particularly at the outset. More than accepting, but actually embracing with love and appreciation the circumstances that exist for you today is crucial to your ability to change them.
