It Takes Work to Make Sure You Work.

10 of 45 Moments of Wonder

My son has been working on a project for school. In the project, the students have been asked to consider their goals for 2020. We have been doing a lot of talking about what a goal is, how it is measured and the steps he needs to take to meet that goal.

So naturally, when I came across this quote by Dr. Angelou, my mind was focused on working to achieve a goal. When I read it, at first I took the quote to mean that nothing will happen unless we work for it.

And then I got stuck. Because soon after I began the first draft of this post, I read the quote again and it totally meant something different to me. Nothing will work, unless you do. Unless I am working (functioning well), nothing else works. Unless I am healthy, nothing else will work for me. Oh my…how true.

So here I am, writing a completely different post. And now I am able to see something else in her simple quote. Unless I am healthy and well and working, nothing else will work. And I will not work well, unless I am willing to do the work to heal, to be present, to follow my dreams and passions. I have to do the work in order to be working well.

How are you doing, ten days into this new year? Is it time to do a check in with yourself to see how you are working? Are there areas in your life that you see need some work, need some healing or just some attention? Right now I am doing some hard, heart work around being the person who determines who I am, rather than being defined by what other people believe about me or how they label me. One of the ways I am doing that work is through journaling, and in particular, focusing on my future self – who she is, what she is grateful for, how she feels and how I can practice being her today. Rather than reacting to others’ opinions of me, I am responding to others in ways that align with who I know I am. Sounds easy, right? But it is hard work.

Many of you shared your #OneWord2020 words with me. I challenge you to consider the work you need to do to make those words meaningful in your life. What is the inner work of BE? of VISION? of RISE? What heart work needs to be done to make COURAGE or ME or ACCEPTANCE more than just words to replace resolutions?

And finally consider this. Nothing will work unless YOU do. How will YOU make sure YOU are working optimally today? What do you need to ensure you are as healthy and well as you can be? Do you need a little more self-care? Do you need to phone a friend to share how you are feeling? Is there a relationship you need to heal today? Whatever it is, friends, be gentle with yourself today.