Habits can be burdensome, there is no such thing as a perfect plan, and unexpected things will happen to you. As a younger man, I had my whole life mapped out, including: where I would be, what I would be doing, and when I would reach specific milestones in my life. The course my life has taken only vaguely resembles my original map, and I could not be happier. I suspect that this is true for you as well. We know where we want to go, and we know exactly how we want to get there. However, what happens when our maps our flawed, a road is closed, or heavy traffic prevents us from taking our pre-planned route? In the face of imperfection, we must choose between where we want to go and how we want to get there. Have you ever asked yourself which is more important? Is how you want to get there more important than where you want to go? Personally, it took me three frustrating years to let go of my original plans and recognize how many wonderful things had been created. Until that moment, I had been so focused on the deviations from my original plans that I failed to realize I had already arrived at my destination via an alternate route. At the start of a new year, we all tend to look at our maps to see if we are where we planned to be. When we notice that our perfect plans have been changed, we create new resolutions, set new goals, and make new promises for the year ahead. Most of these New Year’s resolutions come from a place of wanting to be somewhere other than where we are at right now. Some of the best things happen when we allow ourselves to change course, when we stop looking at our original map, and when we deliberately celebrate imperfections. Opportune imperfections can come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes suffering a setback, losing a job, or flubbing a big account can force us to take an alternate route. However, sometimes the alternate route we should be taking is sitting in front of us staring us in the face and we just do not have the eyes to see it. Seeing things differently allows you to act as if you have chosen everything that happens to you in your life – even the bad things. If you lose a client, act as if you chose to lose that client and allow yourself to think of potentially good developments that may arise. This year, resolve to make no resolutions. Instead, replace your resolutions with a pair of fresh eyes. Allow yourself to rephrase your goals – to rewrite your map. Rewriting your map simply requires you to see what you do have, instead of seeing only what you feel you lack. Each time you catch yourself wanting something more or wishing things were different, take a moment to appreciate your personal inventory. When you take inventory of what you have, you discover you have more than you think. This discovery changes how you behave; it changes the route you are taking and allows for seemingly random imperfections to work wonderful things into your life. You’ll begin to notice that when you stop wanting to be somewhere else, you begin to see more progress than ever before. Yes, before you can grow your business, you must understand and appreciate the business you have. In order to have more time, you need to understand and appreciate the time that you currently have. As you increase your levels of appreciation for where you are now, you allow yourself to welcome all of life’s imperfections, you allow yourself to let go of your old habits, and you allow yourself to stay focused only on where you are going. For ten interesting ways to keep your mind fresh go to www.boltfromtheblue.com
