If you’re frustrated with lack of progress, if you’re doing lots and getting nowhere, if success feels like it’s getting further away you may need to stop rushing, let go of your impatience and you may just get there quicker.
I’m tired of waiting
In
my
impatience
for
progress
I
fail
to
realise
it's
the
impatience
that's
holding
me
back
Not the lack of progress holding me back
but a lack of acceptance.
Acceptance - that it's taking as long as it's taking;
Acceptance - that I'm not in control of events however much I'd like to be; and
Acceptance - that I don't know, and never will, the real destination.
I can set out with a goal in mind
and yet whether I get there or not is not the issue
it's whether I'll tune in
and be guided by my inner wisdom about which step to take next.
It's therefore important for me to remember that:
If I listen to the impatience
I'll end up exhausted by the constant need for action and progress.
If I allow impatience to take over
it eventually escalates into stress
(which is never a great feeling to make decisions alongside)
If I run ahead in my impatience without paying attention to that inner compass
I’ll miss the new paths I need to take
(at best resulting in the need for reversal or backtracking
and at worst getting lost or stuck somewhere I don’t want to be)
and finally, if I’m not careful
that impatience becomes a quality of who I am
a quality behind my own personal Groundhog Day
a quality of never-ending activity
getting me absolutely nowhere
How can you slow down to hear the invitation of your inner wisdom?
Here's the video with me sharing the poem against a fast flowing stream.
A recent video below about doing nothing talks to this point and the accompanying blog
There's a few short stories that I've written that talk to impatience setting us back and letting go of the constant doing
My name is Alison Smith and for 25 years I’ve used nature and metaphor to help you see the wood for the trees, get out of the rut, stop going round in circles, turn a corner and shift from not knowing to knowing what to do.
There’s posts, poems, blogs, Landscaping Your Life YouTube channel, Landscaping Your Life with Alison smith podcast episodes (my own and as a guest), a Landscaping Your Life newsletter, ezine, pdfs (there’s even one on helping you see the wood for the trees), two books (Can't see the wood for the trees - landscaping your life to get back on track and Your Prescription for Wellbeing Journal) all sharing insight to help you when you’re overwhelmed, stuck or lost. Email me and I’ll send you a link to something I think will give you a different perspective to a specific conundrum you’re grappling with alison@alisonsmith.co (yes just .co).
