The Present of Presence
When I was a youngster, there would be 1 night every year that would leave me anxious, excited, and plain crazy to shoot up out of bed the next morning. After heading to the local mall in early December to pour my heart out to the fat guy in the red suit, all that anticipation for the “stuff” I thought I wanted boiled over every Christmas Eve night:
-Stuffed Animals
-Legos
-Movies
-Toy Guns & Knives
-Books about lions and tigers and bears!
-A Miami Dolphins starter jacket (what was I thinking?!)
The next morning always turned into a stampede down to the tree to see what the “Big Guy” had left for me.
Looking back, I usually got everything I wanted for Christmas, or so I thought. Now as I am older, and hopefully wiser, I’ve realized that whenever Christmas came and gone, there was always something missing no matter how much stuff I accumulated.
The 6-year-old version of myself started to look strangely similar to the present day version of most Americans (including myself):
Always in the pursuit of more stuff, not realizing that they already have enough.
But what is “enough” anyways?
Nowadays you’d be hard pressed to find, or even know, somebody who isn’t constantly pursuing more materials goods, more money, more attention, more FB friends, or anything bigger and better to “keep up with the Joneses (maybe this should be updated to the Kardashians).”
The pursuit of enough is a never-ending highway that leads to “not enough”
I want to challenge you to think about what you currently have differently. I want you (yes YOU) to realize that whatever you feel like you don’t have enough of right now is a mind game that you play with yourself.
Yes there might be times when you are hurting financially, and just that extra $300 would make the entire world to you. Yes there might be times when you’re struggling in a relationship and the easy answer would be to blame, get mad, or even give up. Yes there might be times when you look in the mirror and proclaim, “how in the hell did I let myself get this way?!”
You see, you’ve created everything you already have, which means you have the power to create anything you currently want:
-A stronger, more capable body
-A vibrant profile of health and energy
-A more loving relationship with your spouse and kids
-A financial situation not dependent on credit
-A business that makes you come alive every day
For a very long time I used to think the accumulation of more stuff would be the ticket to a better life. It was a continuous cycle of anger, hardship, blaming others, ungratefulness, and just being a plain ass to people.
When you take a step back and realize that you already have everything AKA the power to create anything in your life, then your world changes in an instant. The only thing you need more of is ACTION. More money, more possessions, more workout DVDS, more diets, more more more is not the answer.
Presents are not the answer. PRESENCE to your being and the people around you will be the only thing that can transform your life from mediocrity to extraordinary. The best PRESENT you can give yourself and others is to be PRESENT with yourself and figure out ways how you can utilize that power you already possess.
Action steps :
1. What things am I most grateful for?
2. If I had 1 year to live, what would I do with my time? Who would I spend my time with?
3. What current thoughts in my mind are holding me back from action and why do I hold on to these thoughts? What am I going to do about it?
Change can be hard, and it can be even harder when you don’t have a support team behind you encouraging you every step of the way. Many times people go through life thinking they are alone, not realizing that their situation is being shared by countless other people. Click here to learn more about Training For Warriors-South Metro and how they are helping people just like you become more present with their health and fitness.
Are you ready to give yourself a BIG PRESENT in 2016? Training For Warriors-South Metro’s “New You 8-Week Warrior Challenge” begins on January 6th for 15 committed participants looking to become better mentally, physically and emotionally in all that they do.
Ready to commit? Fill out this form and one of our awesome coaches will be in contact with you to discuss the next steps!
BE PRESENT