What are you waiting for?
Taking small steps toward big dreams
“Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.
Tiptoe if you must, but take a step.”
Naeem Callaway
When I really think about it, sometimes it seems like I’ve spent a lot of time in my life waiting. That includes waiting for other people, waiting in lines at the grocery store, at the Ministry of Transportation, or at the airport, just to name a few. Sometimes waiting causes thoughts that make us anxious, including waiting for test results or waiting for a teenager to get home safely late at night.
Some of the waiting we do is because we’ve decided it’s important and necessary. Some of it we deliberately choose. And some of it is completely unnecessary and detrimental to our ultimate happiness.
Here are some examples of waiting that doesn’t serve us: waiting for retirement before we take that special trip/write a book/(fill in yours here), waiting for someone else to make a decision before we make ours, waiting for the weather to improve, our kids to grow up, or any other “perfect time” to do what we really want to do. We wait for circumstances to change, instead of just going ahead and changing ourselves.
I can almost guarantee that the right time will never get here. Everyday life will almost always get in the way. You will never feel like you’re good enough, or know enough, or any other “enoughness” you can think of. The time to start reaching for your goals and dreams is now.
I’ve got really good news. You don’t have to wait. Start planting the tiny seeds of your vision right now and watch it grow. Take what my mentor Martha Beck calls “turtle steps” towards your goals. A first turtle step could be to just start allowing yourself to think and to dream about what you want. Then maybe you could write it down and/or tell someone else about it to make it seem more real. Next you could start reading about your goal and start looking for others who share your goals. Make a vision board! Take teeny, tiny steps and watch the garden of ideas you’re planting start to grow.
Here are some questions to think about, meditate on, and write about in your journal:
Bring your biggest goal/dream to mind and ask yourself: What am I waiting for? Write in stream-of-consciousness format for at least 10 minutes and see what comes to your mind.
For every reason your mind gives you for waiting, ask yourself: Is this reason really important? Be completely honest with yourself. Call yourself out on your “BS”.
Once you’ve gained some clarity about these questions, ask yourself: What teeny, tiny turtle steps can I start taking today to move towards my dream?
You may still have to wait for that friend who’s always late for a lunch date or wait for the next season of your favourite show on Netflix, but there is no reason to keep waiting to live the life you’ve always dreamed of.
What are you waiting for?
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask.
But you have to take action to get it.”
Jules Renard
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I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
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What is stopping you from living your best life? Get out your journal and a pen and take the new quiz on my website to find out:
Are you interested in learning more about life change & mindset coaching from a mind/body perspective? Please email me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com for more information or to schedule a free introductory consultation to see if coaching is right for you. You can also visit my website coaching page.
"I felt at complete ease with Sharon from our first conversation. She has a wonderful, gentle but firm way that made me focus on my thoughts / feelings so I could remove / change to move forward with a completely different feeling to what felt like obstacles. It was great having regular coaching that gently kept me accountable to actioning and moving towards my goals. Sharon has vast experience in so many areas, I felt that makes her an amazing coach.”
— Michelle Carney, East Galway, Ireland
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