If Only...

These two words used to be part of my vocabulary frequently. 

• If only I had more money.
• If only I had my dream job 
• If only I could cook
• If only I could go on a vacation 
• If only I could be a better mom
• If only I was smarter 
• If only I was prettier 
• If only I was healthier 

I would stumble with doubt. Doubt within myself that I could possibly do something significant with what I did have. Sound familiar?

The other night I was standing in my two bedroom apt cooking dinner in my tiny kitchen. Not just a microwaveable dinner but there I was kneading dough. My counter was full of kitchen gadgets, seasonings and my handy dandy cookbook. I stood there with this overwhelmingly contentment realizing I was probably doing way more in this tiny kitchen then most people would do in the grandest of grand kitchens. I realized my contentment was not wishing for this huge kitchen to cook in but instead I stopped for a moment and smiled as I was utilizing what I had in that very moment to execute my dinner plans for the night. Now, do I desire and imagine myself cooking in a bigger kitchen one day? You bet I do. But should that stop me from cooking in the kitchen I have now? NOPE. That would be silly. 

What if we take this thought a step further? Think about something that you are building currently or hoping to build soon. A career? A family? A new home? Etc...

For me I applied this thought within another area of my life. My blog for instance. I enjoy writing and I enjoy creating. And yes, of course I have "if only" moments within my blog. I have dreams and aspirations to create so much more. However, if I am constantly focusing on my dreams of the future I will never achieve my goals for right now that will eventually lead me to my future dreams. Through this process of building a life I love I have learned no time is wasted when you are fueling your dreams with daily attention and action. It may seem like nothing is moving fast enough but trust me progress only happens when action is activated.

Just as much as I daily have to apply myself toward my dreams I also have to daily remind myself "to stop trying to cut out the middle ground" It's like I still battle with wanting to skip to the end. I think we all battle with this from time to time. There are times in our lives that I’m sure we wish the very thing we are dealing with we could skip and wish we didn't have to go through it at all. But can I just say what I have learned stepping into this new thought process of appreciating my life day by day vs. a life full of if only's is that, no matter what I do the middle ground can't be skipped. 

Think about a story. The middle is just as important as the beginning and the end in fact I believe the middle is the most important. The middle determines where you are going and where you are headed. The middle is where you build your stamina to reach the finish line without any hesitation. The middle is where you are grinding day in and day out. 

Allow yourself to build your story. Something I am encouraging myself in, and I will encourage you with the same, is to pay more attention to the middle ground.  

I know this is a hard one BUT, realize that we live in a social media world where it is so easy to fall into the trap of comparison. Therefore we base our assumption on a snip of somebody else's highlight reel. I love what Steven Furtick quotes in his book "Crash The Chatterbox" 

I'm here to tell you "don't get consumed with people's highlight reel." Why? Well, because you don't live their story. That's the end of that story. Instead, daily engage in the process of your story. Why? Because you live it and only you have the power to activate action in your life so that today produces more than yesterday. If you do nothing today then tomorrow will look like yesterday. Most of the time we ourselves get in the way of our own story. I wrote this in a post I posted earlier this last week and I will share it again here on my blog:

Do you find that sometimes your own self gets in the way of pursing your dreams? You find yourself thinking to much. Trying to formulate every which way possible on how to take the next step which can lead to only you contradicting the thoughts going on inside your own head. You wrestle with your own voice, uncertain on how to shut yourself up. 
*Sometimes the only one stopping you is YOU. No one else but YOU.
 
Although, we are complex human beings trying to find our way through this maze of life, it is inevitable that we ourselves are our own worst enemy. These may be facts but they don't have to be truths. The real truth is just as much as we can get in the way of ourself we also have the power to deactivate this thought process and create a new thought process. So how do we realign ourself to see progress? I say TAKE ACTION! You don't know anything about yourself if you don't get out their and try it.
 
Trust me I get it. I'm wrestling with this very thing as I'm typing this post but let's discover this together. Only we have the ability to unleash all that we are capable of. This life is no one else's responsibility but ours. Let's own it and let's be GREAT together.

Everyday is a new day. The decision is up to us. Ask yourself these two questions...

1. Am I working towards more? 
2. Am I feeding my soul and grabbing onto everything I can to know more and achieve more? 

Hopefully you answered YES! If not, ask yourself how do I change my answer to a YES? 
The more life I am experiencing I have noticed these so called "if only" moments are diminishing. Can I just say WOW, what a good feeling this is. I must admit it is a very good feeling to appreciate my life not based upon what I don't have rather than what I DO have. This way of living has freed me from paying so much attention to what others expect from me or even my own expectations I put on myself. But rather I have focused on the present moment NOW vs. Before or After. (Tip: I do a lot of self talk and tell my brain to SHUT UP most of the time). Try it. 

Friends let me leave you with this...

Whatever it is that you desire keep applying yourself DAILY. Stay committed for the long haul in this venture of pursuing your dreams DAILY. By doing so you will appreciate your life and the things you have now. 

Have a great day All!