"Let's Skip To The Good Part"

The "Good Part"! That's what we want, right?

I live a light, fun filled, carefree, and peaceful life with minimal complications but sometimes things try to get in the way of the lifestyle that I've been curating. Things like the process. Every now and again, I throw these mental tantrums because of my frustration with the long whining roads of the process/journey called life. In those moments I just want to fast forward to the good part. The good part is "there". You know "there", the place we all want to be.  It's the prize, it's the reward or the sweet spot that has been longly awaited. The good news is that the tantrums only last a few moments. It's not as if I don't understand the correct order in which things should go or the way things should be done. My problem is I sometimes become exhausted with the process of getting "there".

I'm sure when you think back to your first day of school, your first day on a new job, the first day of college, the beginning of a road trip, or vacation, the process of getting there was strenuous and sometimes daunting. You may enjoy the ups and down of the journey to there but I promise you, I don't. I just want to skip to the good part.

I want to be on the stage on graduation day without years of course study. I want to be on vacation without the plane or car ride.  I want to be proficient in my job without putting in the years, weeks or hours of hard work.  I want a relationship without the "getting to know you process". I want breakfast in bed without the dude staying the night and perhaps no dude at all.

I want so many things that don't go together. There are so many prerequisites in life. We are told that you have to put your time on a new job or business venture to receive the reward. We are told that we have to wait our turn, don't skip the line. We are encouraged to work hard and go the extra mile to receive recognition, a raise or promotion. Though all those things are possibly true, if I'm honest, and you know I am. I don't want to do it anymore. Long story short. Just get somebody else to do it.  I just wanna skip to the good part. I know.  I'm living in a fantasy world in this moment, but I'm tired of working. I am tired of putting my time in. I'm tired of doing the right thing.  I'm tired of waiting my turn. I'm tired of hoping, wishing, waiting and praying. Simply put, I'm tired of putting in the effort.

Now that mental tantrum is over and I have settled my mind. I recognize the danger in skipping to the good part.

 What I have come to know is that in this journey called life, it is the journey that makes the good part, the good part. I also have a sneaky suspicion that If I just skipped to the good part, I would not have what I needed once I got "there", I wouldn't have an appreciation for it, I would lack fulfillment and I would flippantly jump to the next good thing without fully enjoying the good part.

Instead of pressing the proverbial skip or faster forward button, I'm thinking the pause button would be more appreciate. Allowing myself time to think, evaluate and reboot will alleviate the mental tantrums and I can then make better use of my time, planning.

I'm having a pause moment right now. I'm sitting in this beautiful hotel lobby in Columbus Ohio (I am here for a work conference), listening to some cheeky music and carefully planning my next career move. I'm not in a bad place in my career right now but I'm pondering. How do I go from good to great or from here to there.  What's the plan to level up and who can I tap to mentor me for the next level? The way I see it, I'll probably be working at least another 10 years and I've got to start shaping that reality and figuring out my end game, retirement.

As I sit here writing and praying for wisdom, I'm reminded of a remnant of scripture in Deuteronomy 8:18.  It states that God gives us the strength/power to get wealth. This is so comforting to know when short cuts aren't possible and you simply have to do the work. We can look to Him for strength, for power and for help. This doesn't mean that we won't have to do the work. What it means is that we are not alone and we have help that we can tap into at anytime.

Whatever your plans are, just know that you don't have to become worried, overwhelmed or stressed about your future.  You can pause, pray and plan and rely on God to give you wisdom for your next move.

People ask me all the time, how do everything you do? I pray and plan and God directs. I am guilty of not following some of those directions. I may need you to add me to your prayer list for help with that, lol.

"Probably Not!"