Author: hudson

Have you ever not had the correct equipment for something? It can be so annoying!  Trying to do DIY and realise you don’t have the correct sized screws!

Do you remember those school days when you had PE and you did not have your PE kit with you, but you really wanted to join in that day?

 “Miss, it’s in the wash … can I play …please” you entreated with those puppy dog eyes, wide and oh so woeful.

 “I have flat shoes on” you explain with fingers crossed.

 “No, you can’t … no PE kit, no PE …”. 

“But why?” you protest.

 “Health and safety; it’s the rules, now go and sit on the bench and watch”.

Frustrating wasn’t it and so unfair, unless of course you were anything like me, and looked for any excuse to get out of PE.  At the time it seemed so unreasonable, so unfair, after all, you were just going to run around the field, and what’s wrong with doing that in your school shoes.  They are flat, aren’t they?”.

But you see it is not about having on flat shoes and joining in, it’s about having the right shoes and the right shoes serve a purpose.  Safety.  Safety for your feet, safety from slips, and safety for others. Imagine those little toes getting bunched up and the arch of the soles of your foot not getting the right support … oh the regret later in life especially when you have corns!  And what about the team, no good if you try to score a goal and your shoe goes flying along with the football, almost knocking Miss Unreasonable PE Teacher out!

Thinking about this simple scenario made me think about life.  Most of us face challenges at some point in our lives.  At the time of writing, I am facing a challenge that crops up ever so often. When I reflect on this challenge, each time it comes around I realise that I have not been fully prepared to face it and conquer it.

Sometimes we just don’t have the correct gear for the challenges that are standing in our way.

Some challenges or life circumstances can be tough, they can take you by surprise and it can feel like the rug has been pulled from under you.  We can feel so ill-equipped to deal with what life throws at us; overwhelmed, defeated, depressed, and not want to face another day. 

Debt, for example, even the word itself has a menacing, unsavory sound and feel to it.  Debt and the worries that come with it can feel like a dark consuming grip that wraps itself around you, squeezing out all optimism, hope, or sense of direction, immobilizing you. You can feel like you are drowning in it.

That was descriptive!  It certainly was you see I’ve been there, and it is not a pleasant place to be.

Sticking with the thought of debt for a moment, when we can put on courage to face it, look it straight in the eye, so to speak, something happens.  In facing our situations, moving from a position of fear to a position of hope, we start to see what we need to see. 

So, what do I mean by that, well, fear can be immobilizing, it can cause us to freeze, to flee, or to fight and therefore achieve nothing productive? We can clothe ourselves in fear and pretend it isn’t happening. Push those letters into the back of the drawer along with all the others.  Hide under the covers with the lights switched off when the bell rings are 6 am in the morning. 

But if we can clothe ourselves in courage and respond to debt from a position of determination to overcome it, a position of hope, a position of faith, then what starts to happen is light comes into that dark situation. 

Hope helps you to move forward and activate things that will improve the situation.  For instance, hope can activate you to speak to someone who can advise and coach you with a plan out of that situation, increasing your sense of hope.  You know what can happen next, you start activating a plan, no matter how simple.  If you have a realistic plan and stick to that plan at some point you will begin to experience a change; that mountain of debt starts to shift. 

Why? because light has come into that situation and light is powerful, it illuminates and irradiates darkness; darkness has no power over it.

Think about it.  When you walk into a dark room you can’t see where you are going, or you can’t see the detail of things, that’s for sure.  Switch the light on and the darkness is eliminated, and you can see everything.

It might seem simple, but you know it really is worth thinking about.  Don’t give up,

Oooh that sounds rude, doesn’t it?  But is it?  Did you know that you will reap what you put out there?  It is true.  What you declare over yourself is what you will become.

There is death or life in the words you declare over yourself. 

“I hate the way I look” you may say, or have you said this one, “I’m so stupid”, or maybe even this one “I’ll never make it … I’m a failure”.

We reap the fruit of what we say.  Sure, life can throw us curve balls, and misfortune can come our way, but what you think, will affect how you feel and how you feel will influence how you behave.

So, watch your mouth.

How do I do that I hear you say.  I call it arresting those negative thoughts.  Catch them before they settle, send down roots and grow.

Interrogate those thoughts, put them on trial.

Simply put interrogate means to ask questions.  So, let us take the thought “I hate the way I look”, ask yourself the question, do I hate the way I look and if so, why?  What is it about the way I look?  Drill into the question, you may just find that the answer is something completely unrelated to the way you look.  It could be that you have heard a discouraging comment about the way you look, maybe once too often.

Or maybe for instance you have a scar or were born with a condition, maybe interrogating that though will give you the opportunity to change the way you think. I am not making light of some really deep feelings that people have but start to take control back.

There is a saying, you cannot stop the birds from flying over your head, but you sure can stop them making a nest on your head.  So, watch your mouth.

The familiar can be comforting, we are creatures of comfort of habit the saying goes. Have you ever noticed that you may make a beeline for that same seat on the bus on the way to work or get the same thing for lunch?  You may stick to certain styles of clothes or how you wear your hair. You may even travel the same route every day, why because we there is a sense of security in the familiar.

Sometimes we can be like that in terms of making positive steps forward in our lives.  Change can be uncomfortable, and it can be demanding.

I was talking to a talented person a few days ago.  It was very clear that they had talent, they had talked about using their talent for years but was not making any progress to develop that talent.  I was encouraging the individual to make steps to progress, to start planning and doing something to build that talent up, and do you know what they said to me, “when the time is good and right, I will”. Hmm!

Moving forward to pursue a goal can be scary.  You are moving out of familiar territory into unfamiliar territory and that can be scary and uncomfortable.  Each step forward means risk, “will I succeed … will people like me … what if they don’t … what if… suppose … what if”.  Each step forward will take effort, hard work, laughter, sweat and maybe tears.  It is so much easier to put it off until tomorrow, until “the time is good and right”.  The trouble with that thinking process is that your feelings will follow your thoughts and your actions will be generated by your thoughts and feelings.  Tomorrow will not come to you, you have move into tomorrow.  Waiting for tomorrow could mean time passing by and we become spectators in life.

I do not want to be a spectator in life.  I want to enjoy life and I want you to enjoy your life too. It is one step at a time.  There may be disappointments, or even setbacks, but you know what, keep going.  It is your life, embrace it.  Live it.