Hi Friend,
I’ve heard this odd and sad illustration about a frog 🐸 . If you drop a frog in boiling water it will jump out immediately. If you put it in cool water and slowly heat it up to boiling the frog will STAY and boil to death. Poor frog. Sadly, in a lot of ways we can be the frog that never jumps. We start feeling the heat from life but it regresses slowly enough to not make a change. It’s so gradual you miss it until your life is in flames.
There are many stories of dramatic events leading to dramatic changes. A big moment that forces a person awake to start living with purpose. I’ve experienced this firsthand with my spinal cord injury. It spurred me to make major changes and enlightened me to the strength of the human will and how to live a significant life. For others it’s a cancer diagnosis, car accident, sports injury, being fired, the loss of a loved one, and much more. But… What if you never have some life altering event that shakes you awake?
There’s a less recognizable adversity that can be even more destructive. It’s a silent adversity that’s creeps in. The kind that slowly infects you without realizing it. Until finally one day you realize how deep of a mess you are in. You scratch your head wondering, “How did I get here?” Or “This wasn’t how my life was supposed to go.” It’s death by a million papercuts.
This adversity looks like a marriage that slowly drifts apart to the brink of a divorce, weight gain, financial debt, staying too long in a job you don’t like, mental illness, and unmet dreams & goals from waiting for the “right time”. What happens is we gradually make minor compromises, slightly dropping our standards and expectations, and then numbing our hurt and disappointment with gratitude or past accomplishments. Telling ourselves that “When ___ happens THEN ___.”
Today and for the rest of 2023, I want you to stop waiting and start working towards a tangible solution. Waiting without working a plan is simply wishful thinking. It’s blind faith. If you want a breakthrough then it’s on you to break through. It’s time to stop the bleeding. Draw a line in the sand and tell yourself enough is enough! Change starts NOW, not tomorrow, or after the weekend. Make a plan then work the plan. Lean on others for support. Know you didn’t get into this situation overnight and you certainly aren’t getting out of it overnight. What I constantly remind myself is that 👉 your future will take care of itself when you take care of today.
Get to work,
Chris