Enjoy the Journey

The path of extraordinary accomplishments in any field of endeavour usually goes something like this:
Dream it.
Do it.
Fail repeatedly.
Learn everytime.
Start again.
Enjoy the journey.
Keep at it. 
Achieve the unthinkable.

~ Nithya Shanti 

It has been almost 3 months since my last blog post.  I no longer feel the "need" to explore / discover / find / create myself.  That doesn't mean that I don't feel the need to change or improve myself.  It simply means that I have been able to put to use the discoveries I have made over the past 2 years.  I still have a lot to learn, and I hope to always improve.

Part of what I have discovered is to enjoy the journey, where ever it may take me.  Life sometimes falls together, instead of falling apart.  At any given moment, we need to make the best of the situation at hand and smile.  I have felt myself falling into old habits, picking fights for no reason, getting upset over silly things... reverting to ways that I don't like.  And I have been able to stop myself, smile and breathe, and remedy a potential toxic situation.  That, I like.  That makes me smile even more.  We almost always have the ability to save ourselves from an unhealthy environment.  We just have to recognize it and do something about it.

I think that Nithya's quote above can be applied to just about any situation in our lives.  Relationships, jobs, business ventures, hobbies, learning sports or music... we have to start somewhere.  And in many cases, the dreaming is the starting point.  Once we dream about it long enough, we want to go out and do it.  Chances are that when we do it for the first time, we will fail.  But we learn and keep at it and adapt and learn some more, and eventually we do achieve the unthinkable.  

Just for clarification here, "the unthinkable" doesn't have to be monumental.  It can be cooking a new recipe, learning to play a sport, finding a fantastic relationship, traveling, writing a blog.  In my opinion, anything you try and do in any measure of success can be considered "the unthinkable."  Did I ever imagine that I would have a blog, be able to parent 3 kids, run a business, love playing basketball and baseball, and keep a house running while working full time?  No.  Truthfully, all of these things have taken me by surprise.  And each, in their own small way, is a huge achievement.  Do I play basketball and baseball well?  Not by any means.  I continue to fail at them, and learn and do my best to improve.  But each time I play, I have fun.  Do I have a successful business?  It's not millionaire material, but it makes me happy and I don't have to put a lot of extra money into it, so yes, I would say it's successful.  Any accomplishment you have allowed yourself to achieve at one point was "the unthinkable."

I believe that at the heart of it all is the enjoyment.  Enjoy where you are, who you are with, what you have, your abilities, your accomplishments.  Enjoy even the moments that do not seem so spectacular, because eventually they will benefit your life in ways you could never imagine.  When the enjoyment is gone, it's time to rethink your plan.  We're all on this crazy, unavoidable journey together.  We might as well do our best to enjoy it!