I was driving down the country road in Vroomhilda (my old vw cabrio) listening to Michael Buble’ with the top down and taking in all that I had experienced that day. The music was encouraging a change of attitude and perspective but I was still hung on a mistake I continue to face in my life consistently. The song “I just haven’t met her yet” came on and it discusses how the character would give more than they got, work harder and find that place that make it work….and in that moment his line “I just haven’t met her yet” became “I just haven’t learned that yet”….funny how self forgiveness changes everything. The hour’s drive had been about mourning a repeated irritation to my life, about reconciling that it is just that way…and in an instant I realized what I teach constantly. The event that had caused so much angist that day was simply something I hadn’t learned to deal with yet.
What repeats in our life may not be directly connected to what we are doing, but what we manage NOT to do.
Client choices were that way for me once. Once upon a time, a newbie in business if potentials wanted my services, I simply was delighted. Within a year however, I realized that qualifying my business clients was as important as pretesting my students to place them correctly when I was an educator. While I will work 1:1 with a beginner, my team works with experienced writers, authors, and business people. The type of work we do involves developing advanced systems for success, while a beginner can learn that level, they most likely do not begin there.
Friendships and opportunities are that way as well. I have had to learn the hard way that not everything that comes down the pike is truly in alignment with where I am, where my time allows, and how I seek to live my existence. Do you carefully think through commitments before making them? I realized I didn’t define where my “go give” time was in my calendar but my heart desires to give to those who seek knowledge and learning. When Les and I evaluated and defined how much “go give” time works in our lives without taking away from family, clients, and our commitments, it became joyful to schedule gratis work. I learned the boundaries that support my intent…to be available to groups who cannot afford the kind of help we offer.
This season is about learning how to schedule enough “me” time and “self care” time. Working hard I have down pat, but valuing my physical body’s need for rest, exercise, and play sometimes get taken down a few notches as I prioritize others over myself. It doesn’t work that way…without fuel of all kinds…food, creativity, play, and rest, our lives don’t work well for long.
What are you learning this fall? What focuses you on the need to figure out what you haven’t learned yet?…
Michael Buble’ “I just haven’t met her yet”….now substitute “I just haven’t learned that yet” for the chorus…
