“Start Here.”
Mall shopping when I’m short on time almost always involves standing in front of a gigantic map, looking for the red “You are HERE” sticker and plotting the shortest path to the shop I need.
I do this because I really need to know where I am in relation to where I want to go.
You always have to start where you are. Doesn’t matter if where you are is the backside of the food court, two levels and five corridors away from where you want to be.
Doesn’t matter if where you are is addicted, short-tempered, fearful, and broke. Doesn’t matter if you’ve messed up big time and got a trail of broken relationships and hard feelings behind you. Doesn’t matter if where you are isn’t your fault, if you’ve been abused, bruised, hurt, ignored, neglected, or rejected. You still have to start where you are.
For some of use, where we are is next shop over from where we are going. An easy hop, skip, and jump away. For others, we aren’t even in the right building, and getting to where we want to go means a long hard slog and some almost insurmountable barriers.
Wherever you are, you have to start there.
Starting where you are involves first knowing, at least to some extent, where you are. And it certainly helps to know where you want to go, so that you know if you’re moving in the right direction.
So. Start here.
Start by taking inventory. Money. Health. Relationships. Fitness. Habits. Mindsets.
Where are you?
Where do you want to go? What is your goal for finances, health, relationships, beliefs, community, etc.?
The last month has been hard. I went through a lot of shaking, a lot of flaws were revealed, a lot of shortcomings showed up. I discovered that where I am is not quite where I thought I was.
And while that is a painful realization, it is also a wonderful opportunity. An opportunity to adjust, an opportunity to see myself and where I am more clearly. An opportunity to clarify just what it is that I’m working toward, and to replace poor goals with better ones.
Start HERE.
The shaking isn’t over yet, by a long shot. The global pandemic isn’t over, and the after-effects will last years. My challenge to myself is to allow this shaking to show me up. To reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. To reveal the broken and the flawed. And to take a long honest look at where I am and to start again. From right here where I am.
Because you always have to start where you are. No matter where that is.