Making Preparations

MAKING PREPARATIONS
What Are You Preparing To Do?
By Linda H. Williams

Are you preparing for the life that you want? Or are you just waiting for something to happen? We make preparations for everything in our lives – from preparing a grocery list to making preparations for a grand occasion. Yet, when it comes to what we want to get out of life, we do nothing. We wait for the right man to come along, we wait for that good job – we just wait. Some of us are still waiting for someone to ask us to dance! Few things happen in your life by chance or accident. There are many things that you have no control over, such as, the weather, the economy, etc. But the one thing you do have control over is how you live your life. Your future, to a large extent, is a result of how you are living today and the decisions you make. Your actions, thoughts, words and deeds are the seeds you are sowing and you can only reap what is planted. You cannot expect to harvest corn when you've planted cucumbers. Likewise, you cannot expect a future filled with promise and possibility if you aren't planting those seeds. Doing nothing now will produce nothing in your future! You have to prepare today for what you want to see tomorrow-in spite of your circumstances.

We all have situations or circumstances that occur in our lives that halt us in our tracks. Think about some of the setbacks you've had in your life. Did they veer you permanently off your course or did you use that experience to help you grow as a person? Preparation for tomorrow begins with a sincere analysis and judgement of your yesterday and your today. Using a negative experience to help you grow is not a natural happenstance. It requires a firm commitment to resolve that whatever happens, it is only for a season. You have to find a way to grow. How is this possible?
1.Recognize and accept negative feelings. Pretending that something bad doesn't affect you is denial – and that opens another door to discovery. I've often said that “pity parties” have their place in the process of moving forward. I've advised many clients that a 24 hour pity party is warranted. Have the best pity party in those 24 hours that you can, because “A New Dawn Brings A New Beginning” and tomorrow morning, you've got to get up and get going. It’s when you begin to linger and languish in that state that you begin to plant those negative seeds of anger and bitterness.

2.Don’t make any major decisions. Remember, the decisions you make today plant the seeds of fulfillment tomorrow. Let’s say you’re dissatisfied with your life. Perhaps your job is unfulfilling or your relationships aren't working out and you’re pretty sure there is something better in life for you, if you just change your circumstances. The problem with this is that you haven’t taken the time to figure out what’s happening to you. So, you change jobs and cut off your relationships only to find yourself right back in the same predicament! You can’t grow from one experience by rushing into another one. You have to take time to reflect. That’s where growth occurs – in reflection.

So, what are you preparing to do? How are you preparing yourself for the next chapter in your life? I have a friend who is a single parent to a beautiful daughter. Her daughter grew up, went to college and got offered a wonderful job in another city. Now, my friend suddenly is at a lost for direction. How many of us find ourselves in this same situation? As nurturers and primary care givers, we spend the majority of our adult lives taking care of the needs of our families and friends, and we’re good at what we do. Eventually, they move on past that point and when you look around, you are the only person still in the same spot. What do you now? If you don’t want to see yourself where you are now or even if you’re happy with where you are now, if you want a brighter future, there are some steps you can take to prepare for your future.

1.Create a bucket list. All of us have things that we say, “ I wish I could do this or I wish I could go there.” You can’t get anywhere if you don’t have a destination. It’s like getting in your car and driving and you haven’t first figured out where you’re going. How will you know if you ever get there?

2.Create a vision board. Visualize what your life will be like when you get “there.” Your “there” may be a vacation destination, it may be writing that book or it may be completing your degree. Whatever it is, find some pictures of what you expect your life to look like and put them where you can see them. This is a powerful motivator for action.

3.Create some movement. Life is about movement.
Anything that has life has to have movement to sustain that life. If you sit for an extended period of time, your muscles will begin to atrophy. You must begin to move in the direction you want your future to be . Sitting still where you are today will only get you in the same place tomorrow.

4.Create a life of expectancy. Hope is the expectancy of a better tomorrow. Are you preparing yourself inwardly for outward success? If you quit expecting on the inside, you’ll quit preparing and when you quit preparing, you begin to feel inadequate and unqualified. Then you become stuck!

Tomorrow has already started. Life is progressive: there is no break, gulf or inactive moment. It is continuous. All that happens to you tomorrow has already begun by the things you think, say and do today. So, tomorrow won’t be an accident but a manifestation of the foundations laid today and the harvest of seeds sown today.