We are Being Set Up…
for a beautiful future.
Everything is perfect. You just need to get clear and have the patience to observe this.
All of the things that occur in our lives are meant to help us evolve and grow. Some set us up for ease and flow later in life, though as we are working through (sometimes struggling to get through) the things life throws our way, we don’t know it and can’t see the connection.
How Will I Get It All Done In Time?
I’m feeling overwhelmed right now. Perhaps I’ve taken on more than I should have, but when I’ve got ideas that excite me, I create a plan and execute on them. I’m releasing a new podcast series called “Courage Concepts”, in less than a week. Along with that, I’m launching a new membership site to house additional resources to help listeners cultivate their courage so they can live life on their terms.
I have completed a lot of the items on my project plan to meet my timeline, but I’ve still got loads to get done. Typically, with the work I’ve got left, six days lead time would be plenty. The problem is I have to go out of town tomorrow to have some documents notarized. And since I’ll be heading to the beautiful region of Strasbourg, France, I had to take a couple of extra days to explore and enjoy that. So, just before launch, I’m taking a mini-vacation! The timing isn’t perfect, but I certainly need it.
I will be working in the early morning hours while I’m there but will take a break from working during the day and evening to enjoy my time there. So that I can do this, there are a few things I would like to complete between now and before I leave tomorrow morning. Things I can’t do while I’m there. I’ve got to write and record at least one more video training to upload into the portal, and I’ve got to write a series of promotional emails to send starting in two days. If those two tasks were the only things on my plate, I’d be in a good place; however, I’ve got my other responsibilities to attend to also. And I’ve got to do laundry and pack before my trip.
This is why I’m feeling overwhelmed!
An Assist
But as I sat down to write out my slide presentation, I recalled having already done a similar one before. I’d been at my last job, bored with my work and desperate to be challenged and stretched. Recognizing that it is often easier to look to myself than to others to provide me with meaningful work, I sold the idea of doing a “lunch and learn” series on goal setting to management. I wanted to improve my presentation skills, so setting this goal felt meaningful. I wondered, Do I still have those PowerPoint presentations? I searched my hard drive to find out. If I had, they could help me develop solid training materials for the website in less time.
I held my breath as I clicked on the folder entitled “Workshops” on my computer. And there they were, laid out perfectly, two presentations that detailed exactly what I was about to create. The first several slides form the foundation for what I need to convey. What a gift this is. I’d spent a lot of time pulling the original slides together because I wanted to offer something valuable to my coworkers, many of whom were struggling with being in a rut at work and at home, as I’d been years earlier. I didn’t get paid extra to create or facilitate these workshops, but now that time I’d spent two years ago, was paying me back.
The thing is to access gifts such as these, it is necessary to be present. This morning it could have been easy for me to be in a frenzy, worrying about what I needed to get done. Fortunately, I wasn’t. I’d opened my computer tackling the next thing on my list calmly, knowing I’d get what I needed to get done done. And that allowed for my recollection of the work I’d done previously.
Being Present to the Lessons of the Past is a Gift
We don’t usually know why the events in our lives happen or how they could aid us in the future. Some of these happenings are painful, while others seem unremarkable. This is true, especially as we are living them. Preparing those presentations and facilitating those lunch and learn workshops was something I did years earlier to help me stay afloat and positive as I figured out my next steps. And I’d enjoyed doing it. But never did I imagine that doing that work would help me out of a tight spot two years later. But that’s precisely what it has done.
Know that we go through and experience that which we need to in order to evolve and grow. Our struggles and sorrows, our high points and successes, and even those normal occurrences that don’t seem significant happen for a reason. They allow us to follow our path or find a new one. When we are present and can remember them, when we learn the lessons they needed to teach us, we experience life with greater confidence, purpose, and flow.
