Hey, Happy New Year and all that jazz. Yes, I recognize that it is January 26, it’s been a while. Since I don’t really do resolutions, I didn’t have the desire to write an obligatory “This is how I’ll conquer the world in 2013 by [insert betterment].” Not really my style. The changes of my life are usually a steady progression, a series of actions (and inactions) that lead to a conclusion of my own (usually) choosing.
I decided, after a bout of anxiety and self-doubt, to begin working with a life coach – though she wouldn’t agree with that title. I say “life” and “coach” because that is the area in which we are focusing and that is the role she plays for me, coach. Her name is Dawn Mitchell, check her out. She’s kind of a big deal and I vouch for her.
In our biweekly conversations, we touch on quite a few topics, from work to personal to spiritual. Imagine one of the more enriching and empowering conversations you’ve had and you’re on the right path. Today, we got on a thread that is still resounding with me almost an hour later. And it was inspired by a recent episode of “Scandal.”
Yes, yes I am one of the Scandal fanatics. Stans scare me, I’m just a fanatic, right above fan. Anyway, before I go down that road, let me focus on the scene in particular that I referenced.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te2WovCo35U&w=560&h=315]
The important part starts about 1:00 in, when Olivia, the communication strategist running Fitz’s (the second character in the scene) presidential campaign, tells him that he’s running “like he’s being chased,” not like he wants to “cross the finish line first.” That got me thinking about the situations in which we find ourselves, in the transitions of life between where we are and where we want to be. As Dawn and I discussed, often our motivation when we’ve reached the end of one situation in life is more moving away from that place than moving toward something better. Think of the toxic friend, the shiftless beau, the dead-end job: the thought, I’m sure, was “I’m done with [this person/job/circumstance]” rather than “I’m ready for the next and better.”
We should stop that thinking. Life’s changes should be purposeful, for improvement and not for escaping. So though I don’t believe in resolutions, I do believe in truths and I think I found a new one. I no longer want to run from my circumstances, because often that is how you end up repeating the same situation with the same life-draining frenemy, ne’er-do-well partner and routine job with no prospects for growth. My journey is purposeful, centered on goals, inspiration and a step forward. I’m running and I have a finish line, not a circuitous route.
