Compass Pointe: The KNOW-DO Gap

My know/do gap looks strangely like the Grand Canyon at the moment!

In the Fall I always get recharged to set some year-end goals. I have September, October, November and December to work with. Seems like a nice big chunk of time!

With school starting and the weather changing, life slows down and gets into a routine. Nothing like the fast-pace and spontaneity of Summer! With Fall comes the opportunity for reflection, course corrections, and directional changes.

It seems like the natural time for all this change. The leaves are changing, so why not me?

There are some areas where I've been stuck for awhile and NOT for lack of information! I am an expert in some of these areas. I've read so many books, I could write a book about most of this stuff! I know-I just don't do! Why is that?? I'm an intelligent woman. If I have enough awareness to ask that question, I should be able to process a reasonable answer! These goals are things I really want! Or as Randy Pausch asks rhetorically in his book, The Last Lecture, "do I want it enough not to let the walls and the obstacles, stop me?" Do I? If I did, wouldn't I have gotten what I set out to get by now? I have a certain vision of a life that I am trying to create and a future that I want for myself and yet...I don't get there somehow. It's like being in the desert, seeing the oasis up ahead, but never quite reaching it! I know but I just don't do. It's maddening! It's crazy! It's nuts! Some of these items show up again at New Years when I write down my list of things I want to accomplish. Some of those things have been on my list for decades! In all fairness to myself, I do get quite a bit done on a day-to-day basis. I work two jobs and go to school full-time. I try to keep up on my house. Key word: try! I have a great relationship with my sons and grandson. I save time each week to do something with my friends. I participate in my faith community through church and life group. I blog, of course! I fit in other things like riding my bike or working in the yard or pursuing other hobbies and interests. The odd cooking lesson or seminar, workshop, pilgrimage... To be honest, I DID get a lot of things done this summer that I've wanted to do for a long time-like skydiving and finally making it to Shipsi, getting to the Farmer's Market and out to Crane's Orchard and local parks and restaurants and movies, hikes, etc. I had a nice visit with my family in Oregon. I am moving forward but sometimes it doesn't seem like it or else it seems like everything is soooo SLOW in coming! There are other character flaws that I have but this is one that I'm aware of: I always think I can get more done in a certain time frame than what is actually humanly possible. So, some of it is that! But...there's more to it than just that. This has been bugging me lately-probably because 50 is coming up and that seems like such a benchmark-I feel like I need to blast myself into action. Get off the dime already!Time's a wastin'~the clock is ticking! The answer really is action. Finding actionable steps that I can take to making some of these things happen in my life. I KNOW that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I KNOW THIS!!! I think that inertia is the culprit. Inertia can take the form of fears, procrastination, insecurity, exaggeration of the difficulty of something, self-limiting beliefs, letting finances or circumstances be an issue, list ad infinitum! It's like trying to get a car started by pushing it. At first it doesn't want to budge. You push harder! Then you get it moving ever so slow. You push harder! Then a bit faster. Then faster...then all of a sudden it's easy to move and you're really making progress, moving right along towards your destination. But that first effort is a killer! I'm always amazed by how much easier stuff turns out to be once you get going. I think we build a lot of things up in our heads until we just feel too overwhelmed to even get started. Once we get rolling, it's not too bad! I have also learned that it's a good idea not to stop once you've got momentum because it's a real bummer getting started again once you've stopped. Better to keep on truckin'. So, there's my little pep talk to me! I need to figure out small actionable steps I can take to get things moving~then just stick with it! Anyone else there feel like this? I find this to be especially true of weight loss, exercise, handling money, getting clarity about career moves and doing things around the house and yard. Even getting paperwork and legal matters in order. Even putting all your pictures in order in albums! On and on...Ok, Lana, be reasonable! There are four projects I'd like to get done before the end of the year. Get going, Lana! Kick some butt! Work hard! I hope I can summon up the courage to take that first BIG BITE of the elephant!