I have to admit that I do not live in an abundant mindset.
I could go on and on about how my mindset was formed when I was raised by a single dad, who bounced from job to job trying to find a way to get ahead, only to enter a relationship with someone who used him (and eventually all his children) for years. About how my family for as many generations as I know were laborers, farms, mills, whatever was available at the time.
I could waste your time explaining how I live in a depressed, rural area, on the edge of the world, where it is impossible to make enough money to pay all the bills, much less get out from underneath the eight ball.
However, I won’t spend anymore time on the limitations. I need to change my mindset. It’s time to get myself out of the hole that I feel I’m in. It is time to move the needle.
Time to move the needle, but not necessarily time to move forward.
That hole is really a gully
For years, my mindset has lead me to think of my position in life as a hole. I have spent years thinking that I needed to work hard to get myself and my family out of that hole, and despaired at the lack of quality tools at my disposal.
I have been focused on my footing, and handholds directly along the path that I think I need to take. I have flatly ignored anything outside of that path, letting myself think that the slope surrounds me, and is as steep on every side (even behind me).
Some months ago I realized that the hole that I was envisioning is actually a gully. I have been trying to scale a slope that is too steep for me, instead of turning, adjusting my path or even traveling along the trench to find another route to my desired destination.
All the time that I had been working on moving along this path, trying to buoy my spirit over not having adequate means, I’ve been ignoring the most important tool that any of us has. My attention!
In my bullheadedness, I have been trying to go straight up an insurmountable grade, instead of taking a look around and trying to find a better way to get there.
It’s time to look for that better way. I may never find it, but you never know until you try. After all, the best definition of insanity is repeatedly trying the same thing, and expecting different results (as is credited to A. Einstein). I haven’t been able to move the needle the way I’ve been trying, it’s high-time to try another direction.
I may not be able to scale the wall of my trough, but maybe if I move a different direction along it, I will find an opening that leads me toward my goal. Maybe it will lead to more difficult places, but you never know unless you move.
Maybe, if I move long enough and pay enough attention, it will lead to a shallower grade. Maybe it will lead to places where I can blaze my own trail.
Maybe by paying a little less attention to the goal, and more attention to the conditions surrounding me I will be able to climb out of the ditch switching directions back and forth like a hiking trail, or a rural highway leads up a mountain side.
Remember to tack
Paying attention will be the key. For too long I have held the thought of myself as the labor, I need to start to manage myself. I need to captain my ship, not just handle the ropes.
It turns out that while traveling under sail, it is exceedingly rare to get a wind that will take you directly to the place you want to go.
There are tools to adjust the way that the boat interacts with both the water and the wind, and if the wind you have is very close to that rare and perfect condition, these are adequate for getting the boat where you intend.
However, there are many times when the wind isn’t even close to perfect. At these times the sails can be stowed, but the boat will still be subject to the currents. Most of the time the best thing to do is to go ahead and move, but to go along a line that gets you close to your destination.
As you approach your intended destination, or as the winds change (and they do change), you can change the direction that you are traveling to get you closer and closer to where you wanted to go in the first place. By moving in a wrong direction, you are getting home faster than if you sat still (which is never as still as you think).
I need to start keeping my sails full, keep a weather eye, and be prepared to change my tack to keep me moving toward my destination.
Keep the light shining
Along my way, I need to make certain that I don’t lose anyone that wants to follow my path.
I have been busy doing the work of my life, and that work will have caught the attention of some in my surroundings. I need to keep shining my light out so that I lead the willing along my new path, and attract a community interested in moving their own position.
You could consider this post as a turn signal, letting those in my neighboring lanes know that I intend to disrupt the flow of traffic, and find a new path.
Now to see how quickly I can steer this ship to a new heading, and what winds I my find out there.
Stay tuned.