There is a common story that is shared with people who are closing to giving up on there journey or goals. I believe the story is called "5 feet from gold". I am here to add another story to the metaphor list.
As a new father, I am learning how much I did not know about babies, and one lesson I learned the hard way. My daughter is currently on an "EASY" schedule. For those of you who don't know what that is, EASY stands for Eat, Attention, Sleep, and Your Time. This is the routine my wife asked me to do for when the baby wakes up from her naps. My daughter follows the method pretty well but is rarely consistent from day-to-day, and the only way you can effectively conduct the EASY schedule is if you are resilient and know her cues.
It was taking me twice if not three times as long to get my daughter to sleep than it would take my wife. Finally, my wife, after watching me struggle and seeing my daughter's face turn bright red from crying, filled me in on a little secret. When she is comfortable in a position and then out of nowhere begins screaming hold that position, it's her last fight of sleep. Before, when my daughter would scream cry, I assumed she was uncomfortable and wanted to change positions, so I put her into a different position. This basically started the routine all over again, and I think you can see how this loop plays out. Once my wife shared this bit of wisdom with me, I was able to put my daughter down in 10-15 minutes, which before was nothing short of a miracle.
There are many times in our life we are a scream away from peace, but we assume that scream means something else, and we take a new direction instead of staying the course. Just like the five feet from gold story and just like it gets darkest before dawn. When these movements inevitably arise, they should fuel us with motivation and energy, not wear us down or inspire us to quit. Whatever journey we may be on, remember to keep digging once you feel like stopping, keeping going even though you cannot see, and hold the position with the crying baby. As you are only 5 feet, a few hours, or a final scream away from peace.
*Note this of course loops back into ensuring you pick worthwhile goals. The juice has to be worth the squeeze.
Comments