A friend of mine posted this on Facebook the other day and I've read and re-read it several times since then. It really resonated with me because every word is true in my life. I have several books I want to write, a website to finish, thoughtful cards to make and send, walks to take, blog posts to write...and then I end up watching films or tv shows, chatting randomly to people on Facebook, reading articles, lying around, and coming to the end of the day having achieved no more than the day before in terms of the more major things of life. And meanwhile books are being published and websites launched and businesses grown and I'm looking at them with envy, knowing full well that I could be doing the same.
There is only one way to achieve great things, and that is by small steps. The only things that have great results are the ones that have little starts, little middles, little ends. It's now been weeks since I've blogged every day because I want to 'catch up'. And so the days and the weeks go by, and I suddenly discover that my 90 day challenge is hanging loosely, uselessly while I achieve nothing in small spurts.
So today I'm starting here, from where I am. I'm doing a few catch up posts, but it's time to just begin. If I've learned anything from my previous challenges, it's that once you start to let the reins slip through your fingers, it's a great difficulty to get them back. Imagine you are the driver of an old-fashioned carriage, holding the reins as the horses take you where you want to go. You can plod along for hours holding those reins loosely, every once in a while pulling back sharply or turning slightly to the left or right; but whether through boredom or weariness you set the reins on your lap, and then let them slide away, the horses are going to wander off their own direction, and you'll be left with nothing but a beautiful carriage that is not going anywhere, and a long walk with great effort to get the horses back.
Today I am getting the horses back. I have to leave the carriage by the side of the road and go walking for hours to find them. Once found, I have to persuade them to return. Then hook them up to the reins and the carriage again, and get back in the driver's seat. It's a long and weary process and it's very tempting to just throw up my hands, leave the horses and carriage in their respective places, and just walk on to I don't know where. But there's no achievement or accomplishment in that. Everyone else in the world is doing that, and they're bored and tired and frustrated, many of them. So I'm not going to think extra hard about it - I'm just going to write a few past blog posts, go for my walk, and post these all. Then, tomorrow, I'll start fresh and write no matter how I feel, and walk no matter how I feel. But I think I'll hold the reins a little tighter this time.
"Jog along, grey mare!" (Charles Dickens)
ReplyDelete