Monday Morning Margarita

Happy Monday!

What a wonderful weekend! I hope everyone is safe and well. Before getting into today’s post, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to the men and women who have served/are serving in our armed forces. THANK YOU!

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I’ve often wondered why people (myself included) can always see the “obvious” for everyone but themselves. We’re great at doling out advice and helping others solve their problems–and it all seems so simple, like “duh!” But when it comes to our own situations, everything changes. The same rules never seem to apply.

Why is that?

Thanks to the major “aha” I had while pondering it on the train ride up to Boston earlier this week, I think I have the answer (or at least an answer): It’s not what you know, it’s what you believe.

For whatever reason, all the common sense, book smarts, street smarts and rational thought processes used to easily solve other people’s problems go right out the window, when we’re faced with our own dilemmas. Our own situations are always different–at least that’s what we tell ourselves. But the truth is, very rarely is that the case. Good ole common sense tell us this, yet we perceive it as different, nonetheless.

And that got me to thinking…

If, in fact, the cruxes of our problems are pretty much the same, but we see them differently, or act counter to the very advice we’ve given so effortlessly on numerous occasions, the issue must not be with what we know, but what we believe.

Why is this so profond (for me anyway)? Because this simple realization makes it possible for me to get myself “unstuck,” when I find myself in those often crippling situations.

In my former way of thinking, I would have assumed I needed more information–that I lacked some needed knowledge. And I’d research, and research, and research, and research… to no avail! No matter how much I learned, I never seemed to find the solution I was looking for. Now I know it’s because the solution has nothing to do with what I know; so the likelihood of finding the answers in books or via advice (unless the advice was that I need to examine and possibly change my beliefs) would be slim to none.

Rather than getting stuck here in future (analysis paralysis anyone?), I’m now able to discern when the solution lies in what I believe–which requires a whole different approach to finding the right answers for myself.  Voila… Problem solved.

Simple? Yes. Easy? Certainly not! Examining/challenging one’s belief is HARD. No one really wants to look that closely into the mirror. It can be downright painful. And changing beliefs is even more difficult! But, it’s a necessary part of getting to the me I want to be. So, to get myself in the right frame of mind, I’m adopting a new mantra, until it becomes ingrained in my psyche:

Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.

See ‘ya in the winner’s circle! [big, big smile]

I love Mondays!