Well, as I write to you I am coming off of one of the busiest and most productive weeks of my life. The rest of this year will be extremely busy for me and it will demand focus, intentionality, and execution. We are hitting the halfway mark in 2023. Therefore, it is time for you to stop making excuses and get to work. The life you want will not manifest because of wishful thinking. The life that you want will manifest because of willful intention. In a few short weeks, the second quarter will end and we will be going into the third quarter of 2023. Make whatever adjustments you need to make to achieve your goals and realize your dreams. Your choices are shaping the triumph or defeat of your life. I hope these insights will help you make the shift and experience radical change in your life!
You must have an awareness that the season is changing. As we all know, we are officially entering the first days of summer. What I know from experience is that this is the time when productivity drops and goals are abandoned. Everyone is anxious to get out of the office and to go to the beach. While I am not saying that it is anything wrong with enjoying the beach, I am saying that you cannot allow the season to dictate your productivity. In other words, you cannot afford to be relaxed if you want to reach your goals. Awareness is a powerful tool. It not only helps us identify key insights about our lives. Awareness alerts us to things that need to be adjusted in our lives so that we can achieve our goals. Without awareness, we would live trapped in toxic cycles and never experience transformation. Just as we put away our spring clothing and pull out our summer clothing, awareness gives us the ability to rid our lives of everything that precludes us from rising to the next level.
You must be willing to adjust as the season is changing. Personally, this is the time of the year that I carve out time for rest and relaxation. However, I do not reward myself for nonproductivity. In other words, you cannot live your life on cruise control and expect to see radical change and breakthroughs in your life. Before I travel or embark upon a vacation, I have key markers and benchmarks that I must hit. Why is this important? It is much more satisfying to enjoy time away when you know you have given your time and energy to your most important priorities. Adjustments are not always easy to make. Adjustments are uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. However, I have discovered that without adjustments our lives never advance. More importantly, without adjustments, our lives do not improve. Before you get into vacation mode, I want you to think about what adjustments you need to make. Many times we are focused on making external adjustments when we really need to be making internal adjustments. Your life will never reflect externally what has not first taken residence internally.
You must be willing to take action even in the midst of uncertainty. I want to have some straight talk with you for a moment. If you are going after big goals and lavish dreams this year, then please know that you will never manifest the life of your dreams without action. Furthermore, you will never have the life that you desire as long as you keep playing small. 2023 has challenged me in ways that I have never been challenged before. This year I am going after some huge goals in my personal and professional life. I have been pushed and stretched beyond what I ever imagined. It has been challenging, uncomfortable, and almost unbearable at times. However, I discovered that in order to embrace a new season in my life I must be willing to take imperfect action. Did you get that? If you know me, I am not a person that wants to ever be associated with the word imperfect. I am a perfectionist at heart and I like things executed flawlessly. However, as I embrace this new season in my life I am understanding more and more that everything will not be perfect and everything will not go according to plan. Most of all, unlocking a new season in your life will require you to embrace uncertainty. If you are a person that likes structure and systems, then the thought of uncertainty can shake you to your very core. You always want to be ten steps ahead and know every intricate detail. However, sometimes you just have to take the leap into the great unknown. You will be challenged in so many ways but you will also embrace change in your life.
You must be willing to be misunderstood. Let me just be honest with you. When you are going after the life that you want, you will encounter those people that try to keep you contained to the life that you have. At that moment, you must answer the question: am I willing to sacrifice the life that I want to maintain the life that I have? Personally, my answer to the question was no so it required me to make an empowered decision. What is an empowered decision? An empowered decision is a decision where you refuse to allow the fear of the unknown to keep you in bondage to the familiar and comfortable. At that moment, you must be willing to abandon everything that interferes with the advancement of your life. Everyone will not understand you. Everyone will not agree with you. You are not looking for understanding. Nor are you looking for agreement. You are looking for the strength and courage to go after the life that want. You can settle for where you are. If you do settle for where you are, then where you are will become your ceiling. On the other hand, you can shift and go after the life that you want. As you make the shift, then you set new standards and raise the bar on what is possible for your life. 2023 is pushing me out of my comfort zone. I refuse to stay small and shrink back into mediocrity. I am daring greatly and going after the life of my dreams. The reality of change demands the resolve to contend for breakthrough!