We had a tradition in our family for the first-day-of-school eve.
All the jitters and “what if’s” would be flying around wreaking havoc in our kids’ heads, so we did what good parents do – we read a bedtime story. Not just any story, it had to be Gilbert and Friends – “Brand New Pencils, Brand New Books.”
As traditions go, this particular one held on for quite some time. Starting in kindergarten and continuing until … well, there was no longer a first-day-of-school eve. Our daughter was the longest hold-out on keeping to the tradition, and since there was no first-day-on-the-job eve sequel we retired the tattered book to the shelf.
That’s how it is with our school years. We spend the first two plus decades of our young lives having knowledge pumped into nimble minds like wet concrete oozing into the corners of a new foundation. Acrobatic numbers, sleek sounding words, scientific equations all swirl around and settle into the core of our beings.
We may even have had a teacher or two who believed in our unique abilities and told us to reach for the stars. We took their words to heart.
It’s during these formative years our world views and opinions become the stalwart pillars of our impending adulthood. Then in one final swoop we walk the stage, shake hands, grab our diploma, and swing the tassel to the other side of our graduation caps.
There we have it – we’ve been schooled!
Incredibly enough the rest of our days, whatever we do with our minds becomes a choice. Which is fascinating, simply because after the school years no one stands in front of you with a clearly designated sign that says, “Choose ME!” In fact this particular choice must be sought after diligently and with great intention. It is vague and hard to find, one might not even know it’s there until much later in life.
There will be no arms-folded school teacher or finger-tapping mother standing over you forcing you to make a decision. It is simply you standing alone at the starting line one day – realizing the choice is yours.
And so it begins – your growth journey.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”
If we desire to leave not one ounce of our God-given potential on this side of life, then we must make the choice to take hold of our own growth! No one will do it for us. It is our responsibility. Our success and more importantly our significance is no accident, my friend. It comes with focused intentionality and is available only to those who answer the call.
What will YOU choose?
In his thought-provoking book “The War of Art” author Steven Pressfield defines our lack of “intentionality” in life as “resistance”. In essence he asks the reader to imagine a world where no one chose to rise above the “resistance” in their lives. In such a world “‘there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without,” for thousands of years.
If we do not purposefully jump off the rat-race of life and go out of our way to seize growth, then there may very well be a world with no ______________________. We were simply waiting for the person who was intended to create _____________________ to rise to the occasion. It never happened. Sadly, we’re not even aware of our own lack.
What were YOU created to accomplish in this life?
What was I created to accomplish in this life?
It’s time for you and for me to fill in the blank with our unique potential. Imagine the possibilities that await.
Cindee Williams is a Maxwell Leadership Certified Speaker/Coach and founder of LEAD My Life. She resides in Southern California with her husband where she works to help women discover the leader within them. At every opportunity you can find the two of them hiking, cycling and living life like there’s no finish line.
