I have dreams. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to do more—reach more milestones, learn more things, pick up more momentum. If I could make it work, I would be a lifetime student. That’s one of my dreams: to always be learning.
There are times I feel like those dreams get put on the back burner. In fact, there are days, weeks, and, in the past, even months that have passed without any progress toward one of my dreams. However, recently, I’ve discovered that doing a little something for myself goes a long way. You’ve heard the phrase, “You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.” I feel like that pertains to more than showering and eating. How can you help someone else fill their bucket if you have nothing in your own?
Momentum—The Word that Keeps on Going
It reminds me of a word—momentum. I’ve been helping my sister-in-law with her yard a little bit at a time. The word “momentum” comes up often in our conversations about managing a large yard that was “cared for” in the loosest terms imaginable. From our conversations, it seems as though the previous homeowners of the house were intentional with the choice of, er, vegetation that they chose to put in their front yard. However, imagining that the yard was in any way intentional makes me question the previous owners’ sanity.
Anyway, having someone to help take a project from LARGE AND UNOBTAINABLE to this might actually be possible can help us get going on the ventures that make up our lives.
Recently, I was listening to the ChooseFI podcast, and they said something like, “Action creates desire.” It really resonated with me. How many times have I thought if I only had a little more desire, I could do so much more?
I’m grateful for the times I’ve done things despite my lack of desire—but there are also many times I’ve not done something simply because I didn’t feel like it. Knowing that movement and action are followed by desire and not vice versa makes me realize that it is all up to me—I’m completely in control.
Self-control. You have to have the self-control to get started. Then, your ensuing momentum, or your desire, can help keep you going when your self-control reaches its exhaustible limit. Much like those toy cars nowadays. You push them on the ground, and the initial force of your push engages a system that keeps the wheels turning far longer than a normal car would go (albeit often slower).
Improvements in Finding Momentum
I’m glad to say I’ve gotten better at taking action with faith that the desire will closely follow. It’s taken a lot of trial and error and lots of adjustment, especially since I have three young children at home. But my dreams aren’t on the backburner anymore. I know I can’t fulfill all of them at once. I can only be pulled in so many directions without wanting to shave my head bald. But I think I’m starting to realize that it is possible to balance my responsibility of being a good mom and my desire to fulfill my goals.
If you happen to stumble upon these musings, I hope that writing out my thoughts, efforts, and mistakes will benefit you. Perhaps my momentum can spur on your own. If my journey could help even one person move toward their goals, become a better person, find balance in their life, etc., then it would have been worth it.
But let me be clear—I’m not doing this for you, dear reader. This is for me. By writing down the events, decisions, and consequences that I face in my life, I know I will be better able to see it as it truly is. Only in facing the truth of reality can I take action to make it the life that I want to live.
What are your dreams, and what could help you create momentum?
All my love,
Kyra