Two things can simultaneously be true
"Slow down, you're doing fine, you can't do everything before your time." — Billy Joel
"You have a career of 40 years, you don't have to burn it all out in five." Elliot Mintz to Paris Hilton in her memoir. (It's really good!)
Oops.
I wish a wise older person had told me these things before I allowed impatience to derail me from my true path in my 20s, and then burn it all out in five once I found it anyway in my 30s.
Oh well. The beautiful thing about life is there are infinite chances to begin again.
Two things can simultaneously be true:
- Life is short. You don't have forever. Get moving.
- You have time. Imagine what could happen if you're consistent over the course of 20 or 30 years, if you have a good plan, and you stick to it, and you trust the process.
As someone whose dad died at the ripe old age of 48, when I was 14, I felt an urgency from early on to LIVE.
To follow my heart, prioritize experiences and not care about gaps in my resume, knowing that tomorrow is never guaranteed.
I'm so grateful for that urge because without it, I wouldn't have left the cozy nest of my home state to have adventures after college, like working on a farm in Hawaii.
Your 20s are about exploring yourself and the world, but the world puts so much pressure on you — on everyone really — to have it all figured out when the truth is we never have it all figured out because we're always growing, changing and evolving.
Sidenote, a lot of famous or highly successful people end up really depressed, suicidal even, and my armchair opinion based on a deep understanding of both people and pain, is that this can sometimes come from a feeling of being trapped, like they can't evolve, because their entire life is based upon the fame character they created, or that was created around them.
It takes strength to evolve past the thing that pays your bills, especially when the whole world expects something of you, and that's the thing for which you're accustomed to receiving "love."
When I got cancer at 27, all I could think was: "I'm so incredibly glad I went to Hawaii.”
But some impulses eventually short-circuit the breaker.
Eventually my urge to LIVE made me short-sighted, pushed me to rush, rush rush, in an effort to quickly create results that realistically take a decade to build.
I don't think I'm alone in this, during this age of instant gratification.
When you're young, you think about what you'll do when you grow up.
Then you grow up and think, "Is this it?" That's when people have mid-life crises.
But that only happens if you're bored. Not if you keep building.
To stay inspired, I connect to my 80-year-old self (should I be blessed to live that long) and look backward to acknowledge how young I still am, how much opportunity still exists, and how grateful I am to be able to continue to create, grow and experience.
Instead of wondering how long it’ll take to achieve my goals, or if I can achieve them at all, I take pleasure in a daily rhythm filled with things that bring me joy. Writing. Reading. Creating. Working out. Cooking. Being outside.
Amid it all, it’s fun to ponder - I wonder what will happen over the next 10 or 20 years if I keep showing up? Keep building, creating, taking chances and trying new things?
I don’t know exactly what will happen, but that’s part of the fun. The adventure.
It gives me motivation to LIVE. But also — to take my time.
One thing that's helping me find that balance is the new planner I'm working on (so close to completion!) called The Most Meaningful Year.
I love this planner because each weekly spread has space for a monthly intention, weekly goals and an affirmation. They're right in front of me all the time so I never forget.
These goals and intentions come directly from included journal prompts, so they're deeply meaningful - not randomly selected out of thin air like with most planners.
Using this planner gives me the feeling that I'm a ship slicing through the choppy waters of life directly toward my goals, desires and intentions, making steady progress, rather than chaotic, ungrounded and unsure.
I'm so excited to share this planner with you!
Would love to hear from you! Respond and let me know: What's something you're grateful you did, or something you still want to do?
Either way, I hope this week's blog inspires you to LIVE, but also to take your time.
Till next time,
Suzanne
