I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I feel like I am stuck in time. I have goals; both short term and long term, and sometimes the gaining of the things that I am working for seems like a long, slow slog to nowheresville. I work and work and work and just seem to be treading water, not moving forward at all.
I think at times we all may feel like this; I think this might be normal at times to become frustrated and feel like you aren't accomplishing anything. But just because you feel that way, this doesn't mean that this feeling is truth. All I know is that when I feel like this, I make myself look backwards. Not to linger in the past, not to open old wounds and remember all the old misery and make myself feel worse, but to remember how far that I have come.
Just 10 years ago, I was still trapped in an abusive relationship. I didn't have a GED; I was living in someone else's house; I didn't even have a job that I could live off of, which was one of the factors that made leaving abuse so hard. Forward 10 years to now, my life is almost unrecognizable compared to what it was. Not only do I have a GED, but I have a freaking BA. How out of this world is that?
I'm not done with my education either. I have put my education on hold for a while, because I have come to a place in my life where I have a job that I can manage to live off of, and I would like to be able to focus more on my daughter and my family and some of my other goals. I have been able to make time to be a part of my daughter's education, to volunteer at her school a little bit, and I have found time for some of my own more personal goals; working on my writing. New goals are made and old ones are built-upon.
Not only this, but I now rent my own apartment. Not only do I rent my own apartment, but I need no assistance in feeding, clothing, and keeping a roof over mine and my daughter's head. That is a big difference compared to 10 years ago, when I couldn't even manage the bills in a shared household.
My outlining this isn't just to pat myself on the back, although I have to admit that some of this has been a mood booster. My intent with this has been to outline the drastic changes that have actually already taken place in my life, to show that 10 years of work have made a huge difference, even though sometimes I have felt as if I have been standing still. In short, my point is this, your life may not change much from day-to-day. There may even not be much change from month-to-month, but if you keep working towards your goals, if you keep striving to make yourself better, in 10 years time, you are going to be able to look back and see the changes that you have made. You will see the improvements. Change will not be easy; let's face facts and admit that nothing is ever gained without hard work and sacrifice, but if you are willing to do that, you can make yourself better.
I don't know where I will be in another 10 years time. I really couldn't say. A lot of things can happen, both good and bad, and I don't know what circumstance will bring my way, what bends in the road will be waiting, but I do know that in that 10 years' time, my life will not be the same: my life will change. I will keep working for things; I will keep reaching old goals and making new ones, and there will be change. So when you feel like the long slog is too long, like nothing ever happens, I urge that you take a longer view. This is your life, not some extreme dieting plan; you may not see results in a month. Your results may take a few years, but that doesn't mean that you should give up. In the words of a fish, from one of my daughter's first favorite movies ever, "Just keep swimming."
I think at times we all may feel like this; I think this might be normal at times to become frustrated and feel like you aren't accomplishing anything. But just because you feel that way, this doesn't mean that this feeling is truth. All I know is that when I feel like this, I make myself look backwards. Not to linger in the past, not to open old wounds and remember all the old misery and make myself feel worse, but to remember how far that I have come.
Just 10 years ago, I was still trapped in an abusive relationship. I didn't have a GED; I was living in someone else's house; I didn't even have a job that I could live off of, which was one of the factors that made leaving abuse so hard. Forward 10 years to now, my life is almost unrecognizable compared to what it was. Not only do I have a GED, but I have a freaking BA. How out of this world is that?
I'm not done with my education either. I have put my education on hold for a while, because I have come to a place in my life where I have a job that I can manage to live off of, and I would like to be able to focus more on my daughter and my family and some of my other goals. I have been able to make time to be a part of my daughter's education, to volunteer at her school a little bit, and I have found time for some of my own more personal goals; working on my writing. New goals are made and old ones are built-upon.
Not only this, but I now rent my own apartment. Not only do I rent my own apartment, but I need no assistance in feeding, clothing, and keeping a roof over mine and my daughter's head. That is a big difference compared to 10 years ago, when I couldn't even manage the bills in a shared household.
My outlining this isn't just to pat myself on the back, although I have to admit that some of this has been a mood booster. My intent with this has been to outline the drastic changes that have actually already taken place in my life, to show that 10 years of work have made a huge difference, even though sometimes I have felt as if I have been standing still. In short, my point is this, your life may not change much from day-to-day. There may even not be much change from month-to-month, but if you keep working towards your goals, if you keep striving to make yourself better, in 10 years time, you are going to be able to look back and see the changes that you have made. You will see the improvements. Change will not be easy; let's face facts and admit that nothing is ever gained without hard work and sacrifice, but if you are willing to do that, you can make yourself better.
I don't know where I will be in another 10 years time. I really couldn't say. A lot of things can happen, both good and bad, and I don't know what circumstance will bring my way, what bends in the road will be waiting, but I do know that in that 10 years' time, my life will not be the same: my life will change. I will keep working for things; I will keep reaching old goals and making new ones, and there will be change. So when you feel like the long slog is too long, like nothing ever happens, I urge that you take a longer view. This is your life, not some extreme dieting plan; you may not see results in a month. Your results may take a few years, but that doesn't mean that you should give up. In the words of a fish, from one of my daughter's first favorite movies ever, "Just keep swimming."
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