You Are Never Really Stuck!

You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice. - Steven D. Woodhull

Believing that you can’t change your circumstances is one sure way to feel powerless. You can spend all the time in the world bemoaning your job, your relationships, your finances, your lack of opportunities, or your streak of “bad luck” . . . but doing so only keeps you locked into an illusion of permanency.

The truth is you always have choices. You may not like the choices available, but they are still yours. You can choose to act, or not act; you can choose to be optimistic about the possibilities that exist for your life, or you can accept limitations at every turn. Deciding which choice is best is the tricky part.

Fear can also disguise itself as a condition of powerlessness. You may know on some level that you have choices but refuse to acknowledge them because you fear the unknown. You know you can leave a dissatisfying job, but then what will you do?

Will you find another job to replace it, and if so will it be a job you enjoy, or be worse than the one you just left? You know you can dissolve an unhealthy relationship, but is being alone really any better? At least now you have someone there, even if it’s not the person you’d prefer be there. Rather than face uncertain outcomes, you avoid making choices at all.

Whether you really believe you have a shortage of options or you are simply making excuses because you’re afraid to move forward, know that it’s ALL within your control. Just like every other person on the planet, you always have the most basic opportunity before you now: resign yourself to staying where you are, or roll up your sleeves and make something happen.

If you worry about making the wrong choice, know that you can always make another choice. You can keep making choices as often as you’d like until you find something that works for you. To avoid making choices altogether doesn’t serve you, because in the end even not making choices is a decision all its own.

Never Try to Do Anything!

The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. - Author Unknown

“Try” is a word that should be removed from the English language (except perhaps for legal proceedings). Think about the last thing you “tried” to do. How did that work out for you? If you’re like most people, when you “try” to do something, that means you are giving less than your full effort to it.

You are simply testing the waters, dipping a toe in to determine the temperature, but ready to yank your foot back out at the slightest hint of discomfort. How boring! If you’re going to do something, why not just DO it? If you’re not going to do something, then don’t bother “trying”.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t proceed with caution or take the time to plan and prepare for a goal properly. This isn’t about throwing caution to the winds; it’s about the intensity of energy you put forth when you take action on something. Imagine saying that you’ll “try to breathe” today. What image does that put in your mind?

It makes me think that something will be interfering with your ability to breathe naturally, which means you may or may not be successful at breathing. Trying is pointless. You either do, or you do not. Now, just because you put your full effort into something doesn’t always mean that your results will be what you expect. Sometimes you may need to do something dozens of times before you’ll get the result you want. But holding back your effort will definitely ensure less satisfactory results.

“Trying” is for those people who doubt their ability to do something. It means they would like a successful outcome but highly doubt they’ll get one. When you go into something with such a negative focus, it’s no surprise it doesn’t work out very well.

Instead, make it your mission to simply DO it - whatever you are planning to do. If the outcome is less than you hoped for, do it again. Or find another way to do it. But never “try” to do anything. It’s a complete waste of your time and energy.