A Year From Now...

Hello,

It's Sunita here.

A year from now what will you wish you had done today?

If only we stop and ask ourselves this question every day,

We often hesitate to pull the trigger on an action that in our heart we know we must take for us to succeed and be happy. We are stuck in situations that are just not healthy. 

We are in relationships that have been consistently sapping our spirit with their drama of destructiveness. We allow other people to bring their negativity into our lives. We keep going back to a job that is way below our intellectual capabilities and so far out of the realm of our interests. We promise ourselves we will stop binging on sugar/alcohol/____/____/ (fill in the blanks here) tomorrow, but that tomorrow never really comes. We sit on the couch instead of going for a walk. 

We keep accepting way less than we should for ourselves. 

Why? It could be a variety of reasons we tell ourselves, or very possibly believe to be the truth.

I don't have the time right now.

I will get to it _____________.

If I leave her now, this will happen _____________.

I will sign up for the gym membership in January when it goes on sale (it could be March right now, so that's almost a year away...)

Therapy is so expensive. I'll save up first.

Therapy doesn't work for people with problems like mine.

I need to do everything I can to have my __________ feel better before I can focus on myself.

He's not so bad to live with on most days.

I'm no peach either. (Yes, sadly, I've heard someone who was in a horribly abusive relationship say this)

This job pays the bills. I can live out my dream later.

I will start saving when I make more money.

But it tastes so good going down.

I'll exercise tomorrow.

I'll start visiting museums/painting/dancing/_______ when my kids are older

It's not the right time.

I don't have the time right now.

The excuses or reasons we give ourselves to continue our state of inertia usually have some truth to them. That is why they are so persuasive. But, in those truths also lie our dysfunctional belief systems. 

It is our fear of failure and not knowing for sure if we will succeed, by making changes, that gets in our way of taking the actions that we must,  in order to succeed. It's a negative loopy loop.

In addition, we make the mistake of thinking we must accomplish our goals in one day. That overwhelms us. It effectively cripples us from moving forward to take the first step of our journey. This paralysis then gets covered up in the junk we tell ourselves to cover up the hurt, disappointment, and shame we feel, when we betray our highest being by staying in situations that are so far inferior and less than what we deserve.

I think of this wise saying as pushing us to get rid of anything that is bothersome in our life, and causing us harm. Anything that is undermining us, as opposed to serving us, must be dropped. And all the good things that we have put off must be brought into our life.

We must start somewhere and at some time. And that some time is today!

It’s hard to find the courage to make difficult decisions since nothing is ever black and white. But we must find the wisdom to see need for change and growth. And many a times, it will take severe, and drastic changes to be respectful of ourselves, and our journey.

So, when in doubt, ask yourself,

‘A year from now what will you have wished you had done today?’

Regrets are hard to reconcile with so this wise question certainly illuminates the path for me. I hope it does for you as well!

Until next time,

With my love,

Sunita

#selfloveselfcarefirst #self love #self care #action #getting unstuck #first step #do something #start small #start today