Have you ever experienced this?
You’ve tried to reach a particular goal, and no matter how hard you pushed or how long you struggled, it eluded you every time.
Perhaps it was a weight loss goal. Or if you are runner, a distance you had never reached before or a speed you had not been able to obtain. On an even more personal level, maybe you still long for that perfect relationship, a baby, or an academic degree.
Most of us have a similar experience at some point in our lives. We want something so badly and try with all our might to get it. But still, time and time again, we come up short. And it is especially painful when it is something we really, really want or something for which we have been waiting a very, very long time.
But sometimes, I wonder: Why are we trying so hard?
We seem to equate our degree of effort with the certainty of the result. And this makes sense, particularly in light of the law of sowing and reaping.
As any gardener knows, the soil in which we plant plays a huge role in whether a seed will grow. Additionally, environmental conditions can wreak havoc on the crop. Moreover, think about the type of seed we sow. Without proper focus and clarity, we may mistakenly plant corn instead of wheat. Or maybe we think we are planting grass seed when in actuality we have planted a tree that may take decades to yield a crop.
Are we in some way making life more difficult than it has to be?
So often in my own life, many good things have come to me that I did not expect or strive for. They fell into my lap when I was not looking for them.
And what if our striving actually caused us to repel the very things we desire?
What if impatience caused us to abandon the crop right before the young shoot pierced the ground? What if striving after one thing made us totally miss the thing we truly wanted.
I believe that life can be lived with clarity, focus, grace, and ease. When we act with clarity and focus, ease and grace quickly follow.
“And what if our striving actually caused us to repel the very things we desire?”
My tip for today is a reminder that the quickest way to gain clarity and focus is through gratitude.
Wallace Wattles in his book The Science of Getting Rich, says that “you cannot exercise much power without gratitude, for it is gratitude that keeps you connected with power.” Wattles goes on to add that “faith is born of gratitude. The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith.”
What if you simply believed that all the good things you were striving for were actually already on their way to you and all you had to do was prepare to receive them?
- How would you behave differently?
- Would it change your outlook and perspective?
If you still find yourself struggling, toiling, and grinding away in an attempt to “get” something, then stop. Ask yourself if it is worth all the struggle. If you long for a life of clarity, focus, ease, and grace; then practice gratitude.
See what you can give and share of the abundant riches that you already possess. It may surprise you that you hold a wellspring of much-needed water for dry and thirsty land. Happy sowing.