Begin where you are

"Everyone who got to where they are
had to begin where they were."
- Richard Paul Evans
Click Here For Success Tip # 069

I noticed on more than one occasion that I have a desire to skip steps.  I also noticed that when I tend to repeat a habit over and over God gives me opportunities to learn new ways of doing things.  I spent 14 years fixing computers.  I learned that not only is it important to do certain steps it can also be important with order I do them.  The advantage of hard drives is you can back them up somewhere, then wipe them clean only putting back the things that you know work.  Humans aren't like that.  You have to start were they are.  If pieces are missing, fill in the missing pieces.  If basic programing is faulty, you can't wipe the hard drive.  I gave it a good try but memories mostly forgotten still tripped me up.  Counseling taught me that sometimes things get worse before they get better.  I am thankful I did not give up during those times or I would have thought that counseling was a total waste.  First thing we did was figure out where I was.  Now I worked almost 10 years in counseling, I can look back at how far I have come.  I don't feel I arrived but I certainly feel like I moved from where I was.  I learned to unload some of the garbage I hauled with me, not realizing it was not a load I needed to carry.  I looked in the bag.  Saw it was a bunch of old junk.  Tossed it in the trash and moved on.  Step after step on my journey I had to figure out where I was before I could move on to where I wanted to be.  I remember taking my parents to visit a new house we were moving to in another city.  The second time I got lost my dad inquired if I knew where I was going.  Totally frustrated I exclaimed, "I know where I am going, I just don't know where I am."  Sure enough I found a street name, found it on the map, then drove to where I knew I was going.  Trying to skip a step was how I got lost.  Back on track, I am heading where I want to be.  I am excited by the journey.  Tonight I sat and savored that good feeling.  I am where I want to be right now with goals ahead and happy memories around me.  Yup it feels good.  Just want to sit here and enjoy it.