Am I Making Any Progress...

Maya Angelou once said, "All great achievements require time."  So can someone tell me why I am I being so hard on myself for not having accomplished all of my life goals in the past two months?

I mean it literally took months just for me to arrive at the decision to make healthier choices for myself and even longer to entertain the idea of beginning this journey Back2Basics.  Why them I am so impatient with the process now?



Since beginning this new chapter, each time I attempt to ponder what it will take me to get from the present to the future I anticipate, oftentimes the only thing I can see is how little progress I've made.  I'll be honest, there are times when I have felt downright discouraged.

At times if feels like I'm mowing a massive field of grass with a manual lawnmower.  Each time I think I'm almost done I look up and discover there are miles and miles of field left to mow.

I used to dream often what it would be like to get out of the corporate rat race to pursue my dreams of being a writer and speaker.  The timeline of realizing my dreams in my head always seemed to move at a much faster than the one I'm currently experiencing.

Since my leave of absence from work over the past 45 days, I've spent most of my time healing and catching up on much needed rest above anything.  I haven't made any significant updates to the organizational vision for Back2Basics as I had hoped nor have I penned any additional material for my book or blog.

I equate the past six weeks to the initial feelings of fogginess one experiences when awaking from sleep.  Today, however, I felt inspired to write.  I think I may be ready to write more consistently going forward.

At the height of disappointment at my lack of progress made, I came across this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson which states, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

Despite the fact that I hadn't met one tangible goal for several weeks now, something powerful ignited on the inside of me when I read those words.  Could I be nearing the threshold of the empowerment zone?

Becoming my authentic self has proven to be more arduous and exhaustive than I had imagined.  Before deciding to move forward, I understood that it would be challenging and that I might experience possible resistance and perhaps even some ridicule, however, I never fully scoped the degree of the battle for freedom that would ensue.

I've have noticed that there are some who have little to no tolerance for those of us who think beyond the status quo or who serve to provoke and empower others to do the same.

While I have my share of supporters I was surprised to find that people would looked down on my choice to pursue freedom while they chose to remain victims of stockholm syndrome living as conformists.

There are some who don't want to be reminded of the freedom they possess to be who they are when no one is looking.

Instead, they would rather hide behind masks and conform to societal molds opting not to reveal their true identity to the world.  I once resided in that same trap for fear of retaliation.

Apparently, my quest for freedom and reluctance to continue in performance addiction served as a staunch reminder of their lack of contentment with their own current life state.  Nonetheless, I will not be persuaded to forego my chance at emancipation.

I truly don't understand why my dreams and visions - the things I feel called to - seem to compete with that of certain affiliations.  It's not like I purposely set out to solicit anyone else to jump on the same bandwagon as me, howbeit, I do recognize that there are many like me who are tired of living a life of pretense.

I simply want to live the life which fulfills the purpose for which I was created.  Why does it seem as if everything is fighting agains me being free?

If Emerson's words are true then I need not be too discouraged at the seemingly snail pace of my progress of discovering and evolving into the genuine me.

Am I making any progress?  Upon reevaluation, I have come to this conclusion...rather than being
behind it appears that I'm actually right on schedule and, in fact, making leaps and bounds.

If living a life free from conformity, performance, lack of fulfillment, undue stress and pressure is anything at all...it is an accomplishment.