In our quest to get what we want, pursuing more isn’t the only path.
We want that, but we don’t want to give up this.
We want things to change, but we don’t want them to be different.
We ask how, but come up with reasons how we can’t.
These are the paradoxes we struggle with at the edge, before taking the first step (and demanding we know them all), feeling overwhelmed in the face of our fear.
This is when the cliche comes to mind – caught between a rock and a hard place.
You know what we were rarely, if ever, taught? To think beyond the either/or.
What if we climb the rock? Or chip away at the hard place. Or step on the rock to jump over the hard place. I don’t know what the hard place looks like, or I’d offer more options.
What we forget in the peak of fear is that giving something up doesn’t have to feel like loss, if we instead look at it as cutting it out.
We forget that if we let go of that friendship we feel obligated to keep, that we won’t miss the strained conversation, and the effort of holding back how we really feel.
We forget that if we said no to something that seems important but inessential, we might make it through without the drama.
When the path isn’t clear, the steps not all neatly laid out, the results not guaranteed, the money not a sure thing, the promotion not a given, the project not eagerly anticipated, the book not on pre-order, but it’s still your calling, your dream, your mission to make it happen . . .
. . . then you need to make space for it.
How will you create that space?
Squeeze and stack and push? You could. It’s more work, but you absolutely could.
Or, you could discard, detach from, and be more discerning about what you have right now. Maybe a little ruthless, even, about letting go.
In our quest to get what we want, pursuing more isn’t the only path.
It’s okay to subtract, to pare down, to air out, to thin through, to do without.
To get clear.
How else will you know you’re on a quest?
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