Celebrate your Progress

“ I dare you to make your list, free your mind, and commit to making it happen and not making excuses.”

“Out with the old and in with the new” this was one of the many phrases I often heard adults say growing up. Today as an adult I have learned the meaning of those words they often remind me of how powerful words can be and understanding that the words we speak and the thoughts we have shapes our life and how we operate daily. The phrase out with the old and in with the new was one of those phrases that I thought was only relevant to the beginning of a new year, a new job, a new home, etc. I now understand that yesterday is the old, two hours ago is the old, meaning that a lot of the times we justify holding on to thigs based on how recent an event may have occurred. By doing this we create a sense of entitlement to our reactions, or thoughts, when the truth is yesterday’s obstacles is the past, an experience that occurs two hours prior is the past. We must understand that there is more to gain and achieve when we are quick to learn and move forward, than dwelling and reliving experiences that were only meant to be relevant in the moment. The desire to continue to relive an experience especially one that we were not happy about, holds us hostage form moving forward. There is no experience worth being in captivity the art of letting go empty’s out our junk files and creates room for new experiences to be present.

The start of a new day, a new week, a new month, and a new year is always exciting for me, why because I get to plan for new. I am excited about taking inventory about where I am the tools that I was able to collect and put to good use. The problem is most people spend more time making a mental note or keeping a list of all the things that they were unable to accomplish or pursue, versus being in gratitude for all that they were able to accomplish whether it was a major or minor achievement. The first step to moving forward is freeing yourselves from the limiting thoughts we often create about ourselves. The need to label ourselves based on what we were or were not able to achieve is what I like to call kicking ourselves when we are down. I have often heard and used terms such as “I am a procrastinator, I am a failure, and the list can go on. We are not procrastinators we procrastinate; we are not a failure we fail to plan; we are not what we do or do not do. The question I used to ask myself was how do I become that the best version of myself? I learned to take actions like reading books, asking questions of people that are doing what I am working to become, and studying what successful people do. The problem is not that we all cannot do this the fact is we do not make time to do these things, we make excuses and take time for granted. Instead of wasting time going around seeking an ear that is willing to listen to our complains, we must channel that same energy into what do have access to and making the best out of it.

The next time you approach the beginning of a new day, month, week, or year make a list of all your accomplishments, all that you have learned, and what we need to change in order to not make the same mistakes. Focus more on what you can do and use your list of accomplishments as a reminder of what is possible when you continue to push forward despite all that you were up against. Yesterday’s struggle is the past and today’s experiences is all that matters now. Each day we rise we must master the ability to be excited about new opportunities and possibilities that we have access to. Take what you must from the past experiences without opening the doors to relieve the experience. We can all learn and benefit from the negative experiences as much as we can learn from our positive experiences. The ability to think positive and maintain a great attitude brings us much closer to our goals than being negative and resentful towards our negative experiences. The negative experiences are a blessing that teaches us what not to do and the positive experiences enforces what we must do which creates a balance for us there is great purpose in both. I dare you to make your list, free your mind, and commit to making it happen and not making excuses.