The journey resumes . . . again

It is worth recognizing that you can do pretty much anything you put your mind to. If you doubt yourself, if you’re convinced you cannot accomplish a goal, if you’ve accepted that this is just the way it is, it’s time to take inventory.

At the most basic level here are some things you can do that you once could not: walk, talk, feed yourself and dress yourself, and generally move about the world on your own in a manageable manner. Very likely, you don’t remember if learning to walk or talk was something you considered impossible or challenging. You just did it. Standing up on your two feet and moving about – forward, backward, up or down stairs, skiing down a hill, swaying across a dance floor – is just something we do. So is talking. And eating. Was it all so difficult that you were discouraged forever? Did you say to yourself, “I just can’t. Forget it. I give up.”? Maybe. Maybe not. But you kept at it; you survived. Do you remember the challenge of learning to tie your shoes or zip a zipper? Likely your memory was better developed around that time. Did you quit? Probably not. Even if you prefer snaps or Velcro now, you probably persisted until you mastered it.

You have overcome many obstacles in your life, in your family, in school, at work. Just as you can descend a staircase without any thought (even in spite of any adult-related aches and pains), you may drive a car, type on a keyboard or prepare a bowl of hot oatmeal mindlessly. Once, you had to learn these things. There was a time you could not do them but you have forgotten that because you don’t need to remember. By now, you’ve figured out that you’re better suited to this job and not that one, to this type of person but not that one. You’ve mastered a spreadsheet or scheduling your day or steaming the perfect latte or working with a team. You’ve endured a broken heart, survived embarrassment, recovered from self-doubt.

And now, here you are again: facing something that you simply cannot do. You’re stuck, at a dead-end, nowhere to go, at your limit, hit the wall, reached the end of the internet.

And yet . . . you’ve been here before. And prevailed. You’ve just forgotten that. Remember it. You’ve prevailed many times. Many times. So many times that you’ve forgotten what it was like to not know how.

You know how. One step at a time, is how. With a helping hand, is how. Under the loving guidance of someone you trust and who loves you, is how.

One step at a time. That’s how the journey resumes . . . again.