Sometimes It Gets Tough, Just "Look Deeper"

On your quest to achieve your dream life there will be those days when you find it's really challenging, I promise. You may even feel like it's beating you down. In those moments, it may help you to look deeper—as in deeper down the field that is your life. What I mean is, get out of “the moment” and remember that everything changes...everything. That means that when it gets really bad, at least it's not permanent. This too shall pass, as it's been said many times. Sometimes I find it helps me to imagine a moment in the not too distant future (maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe a year, maybe 10 years). I know in the future that this particular problem will have been solved one way or another. Then my mind does a curious thing. It starts to imagine what path my life will take en route to the inevitable solution. Basically, my mind just starts to work its way back to now. When I can fill in all the blanks, the problem is usually solved and I can move forward. Whenever I choose to use this technique, it works...every time.

I'll use myself as an example. I'm currently facing a few challenges right now. Those closest to me know my biggest ones. I could easily give up and let these things "beat" me. You know what though? Even if I do that, these problems will actually solve themselves in some manner or another. Of course, it’ll be a bit more painful and probably won’t turn out the way I prefer, but consequences have a knack for happening whether or not we act, don't they? So the question becomes "How will this problem be solved?" rather than "Will this problem be solved?" Of course it will. It always is, as that's just the way life works. Here is where I take the opportunity to "look" forward into my own future, and pick the one I like best. Once I've done that, I work my way back to now. You can do this, it's not as hard as you think. Pick a point in the future and mark the date. Now "paint" the picture of how that point in time looks in relation to this task or challenge you're facing. Now, working backwards, think of the most likely actions you could have taken to lead to the picture you have in mind. Once you have the one that feels most like it would work, then you have your new point to work back from. Continue that process until you get to right now. Now you have your plan to move forward to the future you like best.

This process takes honesty and objectivity, but once you've mastered it there will be nothing you don't feel like you can accomplish. You'll know the only limiter in your life is yourself. OK, that's it for now. Time to get started...