What can you do to step into who you have an intuition you can become?

Recently, I heard a quote shared in relationship to why we pursue the resolutions we pursue. Often the tendency, understandably, is to strive toward greatness, and sometimes, along that route, we slip into the idea of nestling alongside perfection. However, who defines perfect? Since unconsciously we know perfection isn’t possible, we have a habit of forgetting this truth when it comes to setting goals and making resolutions.

The quote I heard spoke to this bad habit and suggested, “Strive not for perfection but for creation.” In other words, strive toward becoming who you have the possiblity to be. To be more fully you, to discover talents, curiosities, strengths and skills you had not realized were yours to be unearthed if only you would try, explore and step outside the “perfection” box. Because if there happens to be such a thing as perfection, it will change and become something different next year and then the next. So why not strive toward goals, toward a way of life that opens you up, reveals the journey you could be on and would most be happy traveling if only you knew about the path in the first place?

Creating involves accepting the unknown. After all when artists sit down to create a painting, while they may have in mind what will materialize, sometimes it shifts, sometimes it becomes something else, sometimes it takes time for the masterpiece to reveal itself because the artist hasn’t become skilled enough in the ways needed to make it great. However, this does not mean they cannot become skilled, it just means they must continue to practice, to explore, to try new approaches, allow themselves to feel awkward knowing that this is the path toward the beautiful creation they desire, no matter how curvaceous it may be.

As we step into a new year, into 2018, whether 2017 was a year you are cherishing or a year you cannot leave behind quickly enough, take the gems with you. Take the lessons, the practice swings, even the misses along with the high notes (yes, many mixed metaphors because often we don’t catch all of the gems until we look more closely or through another lense or a different perspective) and begin to weave them into a tapestry to create the masterpiece of your life.

Have the courage to step toward what you want, what you think you may be able to achieve, and even when, for example, the personal trainer that you paid a pretty penny to help you achieve a healthier you is putting you through exercises that hurt, as Marie Forleo advises say to yourself, “and this is what I want”. Because you do, and you chose the journey you are on intentionally, for a reason. Do not walk away from something that is hard if it is what is needed to achieve what you want, to surpass the obstacle in the way so that you can reach your full potential. Allow yourself to blossom into what you can truly become.

In other words, begin to create the vision you see in your mind’s eye, and let go of seeking the perfection that will please the world because it does not matter. What matters is a peace found within yourself when you give yourself permission to step into the amazing person you have the potential to become if only you would be willing to go there, do the necessary work, invest the necessary time and money, and apply the lessons from this past year.

2018 is your year. Have the courage to make it amazing.

~POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES FROM NEW YEARS DAYS PAST:

~And 2017 Begins!

~Welcome the Quality in 2017: One Month at a Time, episode #137

~Why Not . . . Prepare for a Wonderful 2013?

~Why Not . . . Assume It Will Be Brilliant?

Image: captured by TSLL on the Oregon Coast in October 2017