Moving Forward

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” –Martin Luther King Jr.

There are times in which we may feel stuck. Progress seems to slow down a bit - challenges and lessons seem to take a bit longer to get through and learn from. While it may be discouraging, it takes patience and a will to at least keep on moving forward in some way. While we may need moments of silence to reflect on what we’re doing and where we need to be going, those moments of being idle actually are necessary to the process needed to clear the clutter and help us to find the exact direction we need to go. Moving forward can take on different forms, but all lead to productivity.

The winter months can get hard and tedious – it’s dark, cold, and it makes us feel more tired, especially when we spend more time being inactive and indoors. Being tired can cause us to feel a bit lazier with our schedules and it can take a lot of commitment to stay on top of goals with the same vigor.

However, the winter months are a great time to slow down, learn from hardships, and also appreciate the warmer days with more energy and sunlight. The differences in season changes allows us to appreciate what we have at the moments we’ve got it – such as the feel and smell of the breeze on an autumn day. It’s hard to have a full appreciation for it unless you’ve dealt with blistering cold and snowy winters.

Moving forward doesn’t require that we always keep a high, demanding pace. If we keep strict demands on ourselves, it may lead to burnout. Having a specific goal with an end-date may be more effective for some rather than committing a certain number of hours to a project a day. However, different organization techniques work more effectively with different personality types and preferred work ethics.

Being stagnant is a drag. It leaves the door open for depression, irritability, and a lack of growth. Life is interesting because there is always something more to be learned and to understand. The more involved and interested we get into life, the more excited we become with simply existing and being connected.

It doesn’t matter if we can’t move forward quickly. Sometimes life throws us some curve balls and we need time to figure out how to effectively handle a new situation. Working smart by fully understanding the issue at hand will save a lot of time and energy than trying to just plow through the problem without proper analysis of what to do.

We learn different lessons at different times through different paces. Good times and bad times all provide something of value if we choose to look at what can be learned. Feeling sorry for one’s self and getting into a “victim’s mindset” will only serve to repel others from one’s life and cause growth to be stunted for the sake of having the second-rate benefits of pity. Getting pity and being felt sorry for should never be a source of comfort or thought of as necessary for validation, growth, or anything possibly needed to produce positive results.

Work hard for what’s right, no matter how fast or slow the process may be. At times, it may be hard to keep sight of the benefits, especially if it’s a new goal in which we haven’t yet experienced the benefits to be had. However, a life filled with “what-ifs” and “I could have tried harder” is terrifying. Get out there and see what’s to be had, even if it doesn’t work out – the honor of trying is satisfaction enough.

For further related reading, please check out: Slowly but Surely.