It is said that, if you plant seeds of an apple tree don’t expect a mango tree.
While I completely agree that there are various variables that determine the circumstances we find ourselves in, in our life, but if we want to live an empowered life, a good place to start is to see what seeds we planted along the way that might have contributed or aggravated the situation. Not everything is always under our control but we can start with what is under our control.
This is applicable in all areas of our life:
-Whether this is the relationship we find ourselves ‘stuck’ in,
-The state of our health,
-The health of our mind,
-The state of our life overall,
-And whatever aspect of our life we are not satisfied with.
I like what Dr Steve Maraboli said: “You are frustrated because you keep waiting for the blooming of flowers of which you are yet to sow the seeds.”
In coaching sessions, I very often hear statements like: “But everyone does it”, or “No one does it”, then again: “It doesn’t exist”, or even: “It’s not possible’ and “It’s very hard”, even “Too much effort”.
These are excuses for not living out your dream life or your heart’s truth or making the best of your current set of circumstances. It really boils down to how much we VALUE the vision of the life we want and how much effort we are willing to put in the time and again to manifest it into your reality. Will it be easy? NO! Will it be worth it? YES!
Our part is to plant the seeds of an apple tree because we want apples and give it the right environment and nourishment for it to develop into a fruit-bearing tree for us to enjoy. WE might still fail at various points and fall flat on our face but at least we had a chance at getting what we truly want and we tried our best.
This journey itself will change you, fortify you and make you into higher versions of who you can be. That’s reward enough.
You can either go all in or you can sit back and say: “It’s too hard.” Both are okay. It’s our choice after all. As Doe Zantamata said, “What you see depends on how you view the world. For many people it’s just dirt. For a farmer that dirt is potential.”
So choose the side you want to play on. Choose the seeds you want to plant. The most important question we can ask ourselves is: What is the goal of our life?
This key question can be answered at a generic level and/or further sub-divided into your Physical, Emotional, Mental, Financial and Spiritual goals.
Unless we know this for ourselves we have absolutely no idea where we are going and WHY we are going there. It’s like getting up in the morning and not knowing what we want out of our day. What are the chances we are going to be fulfilled and happy at the end of the day?
The day will end up controlling us instead of us controlling the day. We might get pulled into activities (passive and active) that don’t add much value to us as a person and don’t lead anywhere fruitful.
Helen Keller put it aptly: ‘The only thing worse than being blind is having sight and no vision.” Every vision needs a plan and every plan needs execution.
Do you want a fulfilling life? Well, like any goal it requires preparation, research, action, dedication, courage and all in alignment with where you want to go. That’s when you can have success.
I feel we would really do well to bring in a certain level of introspection and deep silence as integral parts of our daily lives just so that we can take stock of our lives and make sure our days are filled with activities/people/thoughts and words that are leading us towards who we truly want to be. A few minutes of introspection and silence can go a long way in this.
Our actions and everything about our daily life has to match our goals. There is no hack for that. Whatever the past might have been, we get to choose the seeds we are planting today. Our future harvest depends on that.
Don’t end your journey with “what ifs”. End it with “what is”!
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More on Thrive Global India:
Well-Being is Your Journey, Done Your Way
Why Putting a Price Tag on Happiness Is Not Going to Make You Happy
Choices Can Be Hard, That Should Not Deter Us from Making Them Anyway
Finding his ‘WHY’ helped Trishul Chinnappa Play Better Golf
Why India’s Top Para-Swimmer Niranjan Mukundan Uses a Mind Coach to Swim Better