"If you want to know where your heart is, look to where your mind goes when it wanders"
Unknown
The journey from ordinary to extraordinary is not your standard trip. It cannot be measured in straight lines or found on a GPS. It may take many years or be done in an instant. The space covered is really just the distance from our hearts to our minds. Because of its unusual nature, it does require careful packing and travelling information.
Pack only those things that make you stronger. Leave all the "have tos," "shoulddas," "can'ts" and "why didn'ts" behind. Blaming and shaming have no place in our backpacks, neither do regrets or doubts or excuses or even wishing and hoping. Absolutely, do not allow defensiveness to creep in. Carefully watch for the "poor me" sneak. I know from experience there is no greater sabotuer of this journey than this whiny sniveling voice. It always reduces me to my lowest common denominator and zaps energy as I indulge in licking my wounds and glorifying my hurts. While so satisfyingly seductive in the short run, it leaves me no further ahead; in fact, self-pity actually causes me to lose ground and weakens me in the long run. So we must be vigilant. Please if I stumble along the way, I am counting on you to not indulge my whining.
Ditch limitations. These are self-constructed boxes that we have trapped ourselves in. Everytime one of these "can'ts" or "that is not the way it is done" or "not enough money, talent, whatevers" raises its ugly head, look it in the eye and ask "who is talking?" Where did that limiting belief come from? And realize that it is just the nonsense in our heads talking and we need to move on with nary a glance backwards. It is imperative that we unburden ourselves of these weights. Their inflexibility causes us to remain fixated to already explored places that have not gotten us any closer to extraordinary. Lugging them with us makes us cumbersome and not able to see new paths and opportunities as they open before us. And open they will and always have but because we were in our box and they fell outside of our status quo, we missed them.
Dust off your dreams bringing them into sharp focus. Carefully place them in a prominent spot in the backpack where you can view them often until they are firmly etched in your mind. These dreams emanate from our hearts but must be carried in our minds. Discipline your mind to see and embrace them until they become more real than your present circumstances. Each of us must pack a good helping of guts, courage, perserverance, humility for the way can be arduous at times requiring all that we can muster to stay the course. While we can encourage each other along the way, in the end it must be our solitary effort that gets us there.
Under no circumstances give way to fear. It will lurk at every corner and hide under every misstep taunting: "what will others think;" "who do you think that you are to be extraordinary;" "you are on a fool's errand;" "just be happy with ordinary;" "you can't do this;" "its too hard;" "extraordinary is not real;" "you are just setting yourself up for failure and disappointment." Fear is wiley letting us think it is on our side by hiding under a healthy dose of caution that can quickly turn to skepticism. Its ploy with me is "to be sensible." I have found that standing on the sidelines looking for proof or safety is just another form of gutlessness. Under no circumstances can we lower our expectations.
Steer clear of all the "yeah butters" - you know the people who upon hearing of your shiny dream say "yeah but" finding fault and questioning your journey and telling you a million reasons why it will not work. Just smile and move on. In fact, I have learned to not even tell others what I am up to - travelling from ordinary to extraordinary. They do not "get it" and it leaves me exhausted in the process and doubting my own sanity. To me it is just another portal for fear to enter. Smiling and moving on is just kinder for all. The closer we get to extraordinary, the subtle changes in us will begin to manifest and people will begin to say - "there is something different about you, did you change your hair?" Just shrug and say "really?" And smile.
To ensure that we maintain equilibrium at all times, we must pack a healthy dose of humor. The ability to laugh at ourselves and at the absurdity of life is the very best medicine. It keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously. I usually reserve my heartiest laughter for the times that I have been duped by "poor me" and have caught myself sniveling about something or other that did not quite meet my expectations. Nothing causes that little sneak to scurry away faster than being laughed at.
Look for the "lemons" along the way. Rejoice when they appear for they are the markers that we are not alone as we cut cross country rediscovering who we really are. The "lemons" keep us true to ourselves by dissolving all the misperceptions that we have picked up in our lives. Their bitterness keeps us true to ourselves. Partaking of their bitterness can bring great healing if we do not allow ourselves to wallow here. Grasp the message and move on. Be ever vigilant at these times for "poor me." There is nothing that that sabotuer likes better than biting into that bitterness and allowing it to seep into our souls causing us to believe that the world is against us and we are alone. That great lie reduces us to nothing and makes us go weak .
Next to your dreams pack intentionality - that one mindedness that blinds to all else. It heightens our capacity for concentration and creates unwavering focus. The power inherent in intentionality is that it is one hundred percent under our control. It is a choice, a decision that we make. To make this kind of commitment requires intense motivation to the exclusion of all else and it unleashes in us the capacity for relentless pursuit of our goal. When we marry our will with the potential that lies within each of us and act upon it to effect results our dreams regardless of how large or seemingly impossible begin to manifest. The choice belongs to each one of us. Moving from ordinary to extraordinary is a decision of the will. It is the still small voice within our heart that urges us on. When we finally connect with that certainty and decide to move so does the universe. We are not alone.
Yes, the way to extraordinary is hard because in the process we are getting over our cherished carefully constructed images of ourselves. But to me, why be small when we have the same power within us that holds the stars and moon in their orbits? And who we really are in our hearts makes everything else pale in comparison. We are so much greater than we even know. No time like the present to get started because as Tony Robbins said, "Today is not like yesterday and tomorrow will be different forever."
I've got my hiking boots on, my backpack ready to go and I have made some heavenly trail mix to sustain us on our way. Now if I could just find my sunglasses....
Heavenly Trail Mix
Toss together in any amount and combination those things that make you happy: coconut, nuts - candied or plain, dried fruit, chocolate chips - white or regular or both, any kind of rice Chex cereal, personally I like the chocolate. Shake altogether and put in plastic bag. Enjoy.
