If you’re an American, like me, you know that today is a fairly important day in Springtime. Today is the day that, by tradition, Daylight Savings Time begins. In most parts of the United States, we set our clocks ahead one hour in the Spring, and one hour back in the fall. It’s an old tradition that in these days makes no sense, but we tend to observe it anyway. The common way to remember which way to set the clock is, “spring forward, fall back.” Which is the inspiration for the title of this piece.
If you have followed me for quite some time, you will realize that this is the first time I have posted one of my writings in a long while. I have nothing to say about the fact other than that my own mental health struggle has prevented me from doing the right things for myself for longer than I’d care to admit. In the interest of transparency, I am currently spinning more plates than I know how to easily. Between working a corporate job, running a business, progressing toward producing multiple written works, homeschooling my two children, and everything that comes with being a wife, I am stretched very thin. So much so, that none of those things has received the attention deserving of the tasks for the last several months.
I say this not for sympathy, but to offer a chance to resonate with you. If any of this sounds like you, you are not alone. I see you, and I know that you will make it happen. Whatever storm you are going through, will pass. Whatever it looks like for you, you are more than capable of achieving it. No one is as hard on you as you are on yourself, and whatever it is that you’re beating yourself up for today, does not have to be there tomorrow. I ask you to please be patient with yourself, the world is heavy today. For all of us. And if you’re reading this today, know that you have someone here who loves you. Even if we’ve never met, I see you, I know you, and I send you all of my love and best wishes.
It is interesting to look inside of oneself and really reflect on the things you’re not doing. Especially if those things directly impact your hopes and dreams. We have such a short time in this life, and no concrete answers to what happens at the end. In that vein, we were all born with some sort of dream. A dream deep inside our souls which thirsts to be fulfilled. A dream that, if you were to quiet your mind, would come bubbling to the surface. We all have that.
And yet, somewhere along the way, our dreams tend to get pushed back and buried under all the “things” we think about. We think about our families, our work, our hobbies, current events, our neighbors – anything to distract us from not pursuing our soul mission on this Earth. (Notice, I say soul and not sole. This is intentional.) We push those dreams back and focus on what’s in front of us. Evolution has given us as a species a remarkable ability to forget that there is so much more than what is in front of us. We worry about the bills that are due next month, but not the devastation we will face by having regrets.
It has been said that the most depressing place on Earth is the graveyard. Not due to the loss of human life, we all understand that we will one day die. But because of the books never written, the businesses never opened, the potential never reached. Think for a moment about the children in your life. What do you want for them? When you look at a baby, do you not hope that they will accomplish so many great things in their time on this planet? Or do you wish for them to live the same day for 80 years and call that a life? If you believe that so much is possible for an innocent child, why do you not believe that for yourself?
Give yourself more credit.
You are an eternal being, a part of this universe with more potential than you can imagine, if you will tap into it. The evidence is there. Look at the accomplishments of others who are not so different than yourself. The difference between your current situation and where you are going is choice. Make no mistake. Everything that you do, or don’t do, comes from choices that you made. This is not the time to blame others, or circumstance. Are you willing to settle for just enough? Or to fight yourself for what you want?
I have had to make the very same choice over and over. And I am committed to making that choice as many times as it takes. I’ve experienced the choice so often that I am acutely familiar with the feelings that come with it.
You’ll have days where you make all the wrong choices, where you can not even stand your own face in the mirror and then seemingly out of nowhere, the winds shift. Something inside pushes all of your BS aside, and you’re left with that dream. It will slap you in the face if you’re not looking for it. That tiny ember that’s been sheltered in your heart will begin to rage. If you listen, you’ll feel the pressure of purpose. I’m feeling it now as I write this.
In that moment, when you’re faced with opportunity once again, will you retreat? Will you fail yourself again? Or will you take steps toward the world you’re creating for yourself? Will you give up on your dreams until the next chance? What if that chance does not come again?
We all have to ask ourselves this question. What if it all goes wrong? But what if it all goes right?
I am here to tell the truth of transformation. It is slow. It is painful. It is hard, but it is worth it. The promise lives within you now and will always be there. But it is up to you to get back up every time you get knocked down. It is up to you to fight another day. If not for anyone else, for yourself.
I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my mentors, Ian Prukner.
“If you ask God to move mountains for you, you better expect to wake up next to a shovel.”
Meaning, that faith in yourself is a small part of what is needed to achieve greatness, but faith is worthless without work.
I see you, I believe in you, and I love you. Now go out there and Spring Forward.
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