No Excuses

I had an interaction with someone this week who seemed intent on blaming their lack of success in a particular endeavor on other parties.  This person figured that if they just changed their circumstances, they would be better off.  As we talked,  it turned out that they had not done any preparation, didn’t practice, didn’t do any homework,  had missed a few lessons on what they were trying to learn, and really didn’t have much time to change any of this.  They asked me what I thought they should do.

I told this person the same thing I would tell myself – don’t blame other people for your lack of progress.  Unless and until you have done all that you can do, changing your circumstances will only bring you the exact same results you are experiencing now.  Do all that you can do, but be realistic about how much time you have and how important this goal really is.  Making progress in anything is a process.  There are no shortcuts, no miracles, no pills, and no spells that can replace hard work, a good attitude, and persistence.
So, before you embark on any kind of expensive or time-consuming change of circumstances, ask yourself the following questions:

1)      If my circumstances were to never change, what qualities would I have to develop to still be happy?
2)      What can I do now to get as close as possible to the life I want, right here and right now?
3)      If I believed that my discontent/lack of success/etc. were all my fault, what could I do today to turn things around (hint: when YOU change, people’s response to you and, thus, your circumstances, tend to change also).

So, for all of us experiencing challenges of various sorts, let’s avoid the blame game.  It’s important to have certain trusted people to confide in.  But let’s do a 95/5 split – 95% of the time spent in gratitude, affirming the truth about our value, our gifts, and our potential; and 5% of the time spent venting about what frustrates us about our lives – so  we can get it off our chest and move on towards solutions.

Besides - as long as we’re breathing, the game is still on.  There is always something we can do to improve our circumstances - if we believe we can do it and are willing to work for it.

Speaking of work, in my work I have been experimenting with different mediums - mainly pen and ink and watercolor.  I checked out the following books from the library and have gotten a lot out of them so far: Rendering In Pen and Ink by Arthur Guptill and Exploring Drawing for Animation by Kevin Hedgpeth & Stephen Missal.  And my watercolor class had a field trip to a live demo by artist Jeanne Hyland.  She did a lovely portrait, live, for us and had many items for sale.  I have really enjoyed indulging the child in me by playing with new mediums!

Have a great week of moving towards the life you want – no excuses!

Peace and love and, as always, go follow your bliss…