As a person who works to help people get from tough and painful places to a new better place, I’ve long carried the metaphor in my mind…
Imagine you’ve been walking into a valley, sometimes for weeks, months or even years. And you start to notice, the further you walk, the darker, drier, hotter and more destitute it gets. The trees are bare, the sun doesn’t shine, the clouds are dark and heavy.
You’ve walked into this place in your life and one day you stop and realize you’re going the wrong way. There’s a better path for you. A happier more content way. You resolve to get to that new goal, new way of living. You’re going to change.
The most profound part of this metaphors for me resides in what happens next
You take your first step towards your new life… but, to many there’s a disappointing realization that cause them to quit before they’ve even made a difference for themselves They’re still deep in that valley… it’s still dark and hot and painful. In reality, they’re only one step out of the valley, they look around, and they notice they’re still in the darkness and they judge that step, that choice, that effort as a failure because the power and the positivity and the effort it took to make that step got them relatively nowhere
The message I’m trying to share is it can be dark and hard and painful in the early days Don’t judge where you are on the path. You may very well be walking for a while before you see the sun again. Fan the spark of inspiration in yourself that has you take those steps to begin with. Continue to support the dream, the vision, the intention of the new and inspiring place you’re walking towards Hold that in your minds eye while you continue to walk forward.
The first steps may not look like they’re in the right direction, but that’s just the first test on your way to our new goal.