When the Going Gets Tough - 3 Tips
Celebrate the Wins
For those who’ve been following, you already know bits and pieces of our story. If you are new to our story here it is in a nutshell. My husband and I are 42. We’ve been married 18years. We got a late start at following our dreams for many reasons. We dove in three years ago — pursuing Derek’s dream to be a professional race car driver as I found a way to pursue my dream of documentary film by following him as he pursued his. Our journey hasn’t been without its bumps in the road from overcoming family skepticism to balancing home, work and family, to learning the business side of racing. We now find ourselves working to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in racing, securing partners to support the financial side of racing.
When you dream, you don’t always see the detail. You can’t really see the level of work involved until you are smack, dab in the middle of it. There have been times when I have been tempted to give up…as recently as last week. But, I am always reminded somehow — I call them “angel messages” — of what qualities and practices need to be put in place to endure and overcome the challenge at hand. Here are three that I use when faced with a challenge.
The number one tool to employ when you are faced with a challenge came from our dear life coach Louise Rouse. Louise taught Derek and I a concept of “celebrating your wins.” The best thing about this concept is that it can be anything at all that you feel good about. A few years ago we shared this tool with our kids and created a family tradition of going to our favorite local restaurant, Buttercloud Bakery for breakfast on Sunday after church to have a biscuit sandwich, coffee and to celebrate our wins. For us they have been anything from my nine year old celebrating a sleepover that was fun to one of the girls getting an A on a hard test. For Derek, one example was that he started his day that week with a Joel Osteen sermon to get right with God for the day. Anything that you feel good about is a win. The power of it is enormous! Celebrating your wins is simple task you can do anywhere, anytime and it immediately changes your focus to good, gratitude and accomplishment. We often don’t realize when we are challenged how well we’ve done at overcoming and accomplishing until we take a moment to stop and reflect. This practice alone is enough to give you renewed energy toward goals you may be struggling with.
The second way I work through a challenge is by taking time to consolidate notes. Derek and I actually sat down together the other night and he shared with me he does the same. Sometimes when we are working really hard and pushing to meet our goals, we forget that slowing down to organize both our thoughts and our notes is a very helpful practice. They go hand in hand. Not only does it eliminate piles of paper which inevitably can make you feel scattered (because it is), it allows for the review of what you have noted and collected pertaining to the project. As I review notes, I often get reminded of a little step I noted to do but forgot about or have procrastinated on that may be the very step needed to reach the goal. Getting organized clears the decks for more innovation.
Finally, and this may seem a little “woo woo” to some of you, I look to the animals and birds. Native Americans did this, so why can’t we? We live on Native American land in Southern Oregon. The Takelma Tribe inhabited our land before us. I can talk all day about how I believe there is much more to life than what we see physically and that all is energy but that’s for another post! However, I do feel a connection to those who were here before us and have many stories of how the animals that also share this land with us show up and very interesting times. I feel they are are some of the angel messengers. If you don’t believe me, try this and see what you find. Whenever you encounter and animal that gets your attention, and I’m not suggesting your family dog, take a moment to tune in to how you are feeling. Then look up the animal totem for this particular animal and see what it represents.
For example, Derek was really struggling the other day with feeling defeated. We were having breakfast at our kitchen table and all of a sudden, clear as day, a bald eagle pair came swooping down to the lake (we can see the lake out of our window) attempting to pick up prey that had been frozen on the iced-over lake. They flew right by our kitchen window. So, I looked up bald eagle and this is what it said: “When the Eagle swoops in as your Spirit Animal it’s time to hold your head high.” In addition, “If you have a dream, if you desire to achieve a goal that will make your soul feel more “full.” Take your cue form the all-confident eagle and “know” your aim will be straight and true. I do this every time and every time and the answer is clear. Try it! You just might find some guidance through connection with Spirit Animals.
This weeks episode of www.fastlife.tv celebrates the wins to intentionally prepare for more progress and success. We are also celebrating the win of a young man that we race for, Mason Gordon. He has come out of his treatment for Cancer with a very good prognosis and expectation that he will return to school very soon. We are so grateful to God and moved by his ever positive attitude to overcome this challenge. Go Mason! If he can overcome this, you can overcome whatever it is you are challenged with.
