Look Straight Ahead

March 9th, 2010

Climbing to the top of the mountain or crossing a high bridge or trail, every experienced guide has exactly the same advice. “Don’t look down! Look straight ahead!”. They say this because they know that if you start looking down you stand a very good chance of going down.
Our vision, where we are looking, is what determines where we are going. Fate can bring some heavy winds and some treacherous patches but by focusing on where we want to be, we keep going, we keep striving and we make it.
We may say that we want to get somewhere specific but where are we looking? Are we looking at what could go wrong? Are we looking at what other people might think or say? Are we looking at others who didn’t make it and were ridiculed? If we are looking at any of these, that’s where we are going!
It doesn’t matter what we planned or what we have invested. It only matters that our goal and our vision are in sync. It only matters that we are looking straight ahead to where we are going and that we have a burning desire to get there.
Where we have been has absolutely no bearing on where we want to go. What is behind us may have strengthened or weakened us but the next step forward is all about now and not then.
Look straight ahead and take a step today no matter how tiny and you are on your way.

©2010 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

 

Don’t fear mistakes

March 1st, 2010

“The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake” -Meister Eckhart 1260-1328.
Every day we have a multitude of decisions to make and by these decisions we shape our life, or so we believe. I believe that the vast volume of what we don’t decide has an equal or even larger impact on our life. We are so terrified of making a mistake, of guessing wrong, of being ridiculed, of feeling regret, remorse or guilt that we have become frozen. Bad jobs continue to be filled, bad bosses continue to be tolerated, bad relationships continue to be ignored. It is time to bring the heat of passion to thaw us out.It’s time to feel the exhilaration of taking a chance. It’s time to live.
Dare to be wrong. Dare to make a mistake. Focus on a positive outcome but realize that some mistakes are teachers and some mistakes make the very best stories and some mistakes are inedible and you just have to throw them away and start over again. But all of this time you will know that you are alive.
What is going or feeling right in your life? When is the last time you really celebrated that? What is going or feeling wrong in your life? When was the last time you tried to change it? Could your life be better or more fulfilling? What would it take? I don’t know is the answer of frozen people.
Make a list of the changes that you would like to see in the world, your country, your community, your family, your relationships, your health, your job, your money, your security and your spirituality and each day take a chance on making one of those better. Don’t let a past mistake or the fear of a future one stop you. Live the life you want. You’ve got what it takes.

©2010 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com