Stay in Your Lane

Ever been driving down the road and you see a car.  It's at a stop sign.  There's no one behind you and suddenly that car pulls out in front of you?  They could have waited a whole TWO seconds and they would have had all the time in the world.  So, you lay on the horn and, depending how thug you are, you throw some hand signs that your Sunday School teacher would be shocked to see you do.  THE NERVE of that person, right?

I mean, what could be so important that they would just take their lives in their own hands.  Why did they want to be in front of you so badly??

Ok... here's your warning.  Here's your pivot.  

How many times have you been that metaphorical person in your life?  The one at the stop sign... not the other one!  Can you remember a time when you wanted to be where someone was so badly?  I'm not talking about being physically where they are, although if they are in the Bahamas drinking rum drinks, I kinda get you on that one.  I'm talking about that they look like they have that perfect life.  They have the job making $120K a year.  They have the perfect-ish husband and kids.  Their house looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens.

If you claim, "I am a Jedi, I crave not these things!"  I'm calling B.S.  Sorry, not sorry.  We've all wanted to be where someone else is.  We've wanted all the things that another person has.  I know that I do.  

But here are the hard questions.  What are you doing in your life to have that life you crave so much?  Are you dusting off that resume and putting on a fresh coat of ink?  When is the last time you looked at your job skills to realize that you are more than the job you have right now?

If not, then take some time and do a self-assessment of yourself.  Learn a new skill, sometimes for free, and apply for those higher paying jobs.  You'll get a lot of rejections, but what if you get an interview.  What if you get the career that will take you to where you want to be?

One of the most wisdom-filled statements anyone has ever given me was so simple.  Four words... STAY IN YOUR LANE.  Most of the people that you covet their lifestyle had to work for it.  They are STILL working for it... daily!  

I'm taking my own advice on this one.  I'm working towards the life that I want.  Am I there yet?  Absolutely not, but I'm working on it every day to push for the life that I want.

Stay in your own lane, but remember your destination!  Stay the course.

A Little Late for A New Years Post

 You know how it goes.  The New Year rolls around and you have all these hopes and dreams of being a better you.  We come up with all these resolutions on how we are going to make 2023 "OUR YEAR." Before you know it, 6 weeks have passed, our resolve has begun to crumble, and we feel like total failures.  

Ok, Ok, I'm not talking about ALL of you.  I have some of those friends who are still killing it at the gym and eating right.  They are still doing all the things.  To those of you out there, mucho respect, my friends.  I wish that I was built for that kind of drive.

For most of us, our New Years "Failures" still make us a bit sick to our stomachs, right?  I know it always did for me.  Now that I've made a bunch of you feel bad, don't worry, I'm going to bring it all back around and make you feel better.  At least I hope that I do.

For 2023, my resolution was having good mental health for the year.  It wasn't losing weight.  It wasn't walking a mile a day.  It definitely wasn't eating healthier, although I try... it wasn't going to be a resolution.  

I started realizing that if I didn't have good mental health throughout the year that every dream and desire that I have for my life would never come to fruition.  Think about how many times you wanted to start something great and then life came in and took a big dump on your hopes and dreams.  Did that make you want to continue?  Did that make you want to push harder?  Probably not.  If you are anything like me, you wanted to crawl in a whole until the whole thing eventually blew over. 

Of course, when we climb into that hole, all those proverbial plates we've been spinning eventually start falling out of air.  They come crashing down around us while we are in our hole that we've dug for ourselves.  It hurts.  Failure hurts.  

This year, I'm choosing to celebrate the little wins instead of waiting for the big wins.  Little Junior slept through the night, YAS GIRRRL... GET EXCITED!  Traffic was great on the way to work?  Plaster that smile on your face!  You deserve it!   You woke up with no eye crusties in the morning?  That mirror better get ready for your victory dance!  

Your celebration shouldn't just be spent on the big victories.  Celebrate something every day and let yourself get super psyched about it.  When you get up with a positive mindset and start looking for those little things to be excited about, it changes something in your brain.  You stay looking for happiness instead of looking for the next disaster that's coming your way.  

We can't avoid some of the negative things that happen in our lives, but we can try to find one teeny tiny thing about the situation to laugh about.  For example, let's say the whole family caught the stomach bug.  Everyone has become close friends with the toilet and the trash can.  Does it suck? It's one of the yuckiest sucks, but when was the last time everyone was at the house together, not doing work or at school.   When's the last time your kids wanted to cuddle on the couch with you where you weren't thinking about work or what you needed to do next.   There's a little joy in a lot of life's unpleasantness... Not all, but most.  You just have to find that one thing.

I challenge you this week.  I challenge you to find a joy or a laugh in one of the suckiest parts of your week.  Find your joy... Smile... Laugh.  Throw on some music and celebrate properly!