“Take pride in how far you have come. Have faith in how far you can go”
Are you giving yourself enough credit for everything you have accomplished that has gotten you to this exact point where you are right now?
I know how easy it is to overlook all you have successfully done–the lessons you learned and everything else that has helped you to get to this point. But, you know what I realized? Even though we are working to get where we ultimately want to be, we are supposed to be taking mini victory laps and really enjoying where we are right now.
It’s important. Actually, it’s crucial.
Because it’s easy to fall into the trap of allowing your desire of where you want to go overshadow where you are right now and all you have already successfully done.
I know there are more and more things you want to accomplish. I know you want to live up to your potential and do everything you are really capable of. I have that exact same feeling too.
But, in order for us to get where we ultimately want to be, we’ve got to love and appreciate exactly where we are right now at this moment in time and realize what we’ve already done.
It’s all About Right Now
Appreciating where we are today is the fuel we need to continue to move forward. It allows us to look at things from the right perspective and have the right type of thoughts top of mind. It also creates the right type of feelings that keep the good energy flowing so we can create the future we want.
It’s not that we don’t want more or that we should take our foot off the proverbial pedal. We’ve just got to give ourselves the credit we deserve for getting to this point and live today in the best way we possibly can.
I understand that life has by no means been a cakewalk. We have been through a lot. We have done a lot. We have witnessed and experienced a lot-the good, the bad and even the ugly at times.
But, every one of those things has brought us to this point where we are right now. And, we are better off today because of what we experienced and learned yesterday, even if sometimes that’s really hard to see.
Is every single thing perfect just like you want? Possibly not. Have your best times already come? Absolutely not. There are always more wonderful things coming your way. But, you’ve got to really open yourself up to those things so they can unfold perfectly. And, the best way you do that is by appreciating where you are today and really enjoying and experiencing every moment.
It’s like that great quote from Lao Tzu reminds us –
‘Rejoice in the way things are. Live in the moment. When you successfully do this, the whole world belongs to you.’
The Possibility of Today
1. Take a mini victory lap. Think about all you are doing right today. Think about all you have accomplished. Don’t overlook anything — the small things definitely count. Enjoy those feelings of accomplishment for awhile.
2. Think about all that you have in your life today. Reflect on all the things and people you have in your life that you appreciate. A good quote that I always remind myself of — “What if you woke up tomorrow, with only those things you remembered to appreciate today?”
3. Live Today and love exactly where you are. Pour your passion, energy and attention into whatever is in front of you today. Really focus on living today in the best way you can and experiencing every single moment that comes your way. It doesn’t take much to really experience and live in the moment, but it does take intent.
This is a great reminder that no matter where we want to be in life we can live life to the fullest, appreciate what we have, and always have integrity with doing our best. I believe in every situation we need to be as efficient as possible and put our best foot forward no matter how far from our dreams.
You are so right. It really is all about living life to the fullest:) Thanks Joe for the comment and sharing your wisdom here. I appreciate it.
This is such an important but overlooked practice. We focus on what we did wrong, what we didn’t learn, what we failed to do, instead of giving ourselves credit. During reviews and at the end of the semester, I would always ask my students what they had learned and how they learned it. I wanted them to see what they had accomplished and to take credit for it.
Hey Galen. Thanks for the comment. I think you make a really important point about integrating certain things into our standard practices that will really encourage us to look at all we’ve done. It really is about making sure you are focusing on the right things. Thanks so much for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Galen, you are so right. I find more and more the core issue around loving myself is noticing and halting the critic in my head. I’m beginning to feel that is the key to the rest. (You can’t give away what you haven’t got. So you can’t stop seeing what’s “wrong” in others until you stop seeing what’s “wrong” in you). Thank you for your post.
Would love to learn more about your website.
Great:) So glad. Please continue to drop by. I hope you enjoy it Gwen.
Hi Sibyl,
I’ve subscribed to your blog not too long ago and I’m so glad I did. Your message is always on the point with what I’m going through and helps me redirect my perspective. I woke up this morning full of doubts about my future of owning my own business even though I’ve been working toward it for awhile. I’ve a set date to leave my stable job, but I’m so scared to do it. As you’ve advised I’ll appreciate all that I’ve accomplished, all the things I’ve and be in the moment and believe things will work out. Thanks Sibyl. I appreciate what you do.
Thank you so much for the kind words about the blog. I am so glad that you have joined us here and that you are liking what you find. I know that fear can sometimes – or actually always:) be hard to push through. For me, it is all about just taking one step at a time and know that as you take each new step, another piece of the fear melts away. Thanks again for the comment and for dropping by.
Hmmm. A good friend of mine, no a great friend of mine, advised me to take baby steps yesterday and start carving out sometime for myself each day for mental, spiritual and emotional healing. I’ve been sharing with her that I have been living in a state of fear, anxiety, depression…you name it I have been experiencing it. I will spare you the details but she advised me to carve out 2 hours of my day to work on me; my personal growth. I said maybe tomorrow, today I just need to decompress, I’m tired etc…”Erica, I know you have 2 hours” she insisted and persisted and went on, and on, and on…LOL. I told her I would absolutely do it because she has been carving out at least 2 hours of her day to help me through my personal dilemmas and I felt if not for myself (because I had no energy at the time) at least I would do it for her. Long story short, I did that yesterday and I woke up feeling better today than I did yesterday. So this morning I decided to give myself another 2 hours, perhaps one this morning and another midday after I completed some chores. So I decided to give myself a mental, emotional and spiritual boost by listening to one of my favorite pastors Dr. Charles Stanley and do you know what the message was this morning? “Mental, spiritual and emotional healing”…
Wonderful sharing, Erica.
Sibyl,
I needed this today! Great reminders and a wonderful way to start my Monday morning. I will be taking my victory lap as I look around my classroom and how far we’ve come this year. Thank you!
That’s definitely a lap you should be taking Betsy:) I am sure you guys have taken a quantum leap this year:) Thanks for the comment and for dropping by.
this helped so much today–sometimes we just keep looking at where we want to be-i read this today and realized that my God i’ve come so far why don’t i look more at my accomplishments-i’ve decided that from now on each morning I will think of my success for a few moments before i start my day-to help me realize my life does have purpose.
That really is what it is all about. Don’t overlook how far you’ve come:) So glad you liked the post and that it helped. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know.
One of the (if not THE) most important awarenesses that Anita Moorjani had with her NED (Near Death Experience) – author of Dying To Be Me (forward by Wayne Dyer) was “My gosh! Why was I so harsh on myself!?!” Fire the crtic. Fire the crtic. Fire the crtic.
Hi Priscilla: Thanks so much for the comment. I am so glad you dropped by. I totally love that — fire the critic. That is such great advice:) Thanks again for dropping by and sharing your thoughts here. I really appreciate it.
Re: “But, you’ve got to really open yourself up to those things so they can unfold perfectly,” either way, Sibyl, they will unfold perfectly. Everything is in Divine order. The issue is whether we allow ourselves to enjoy it or not.
Hi Priscilla: I am in agreement with that:) Everything always unfolds perfectly and just the way you need it to at the time. Thanks so much for the comment and for dropping by.