One of my clients is a very creative journalist and author. She has found herself at a fork in the road. She asked, “How do I sort out the dichotomy between taking projects to completion and being open to what’s next?”
This was my response:
Completing projects is only important if it feels good. Now I’m not advocating being a quitter so stick with me. Many times we make promises to things that in the end are not good for us. But it’s hard to know that up front. So you must do a dance with life and keep checking in with how you feel. Your true intentions are always being fulfilled. The problem is that most people do not know what their true intentions are. So new opportunities present themselves to get you back to your true desire or purpose. Okay back to the point.
When you make a promise, keep it. If you get are in the middle of the promise and you see that keeping it is not in your highest good, get in communication and either cancel the promise or renegotiate the promise.
This practice will make you very aware of your promises because it totally sucks when you have to cancel or re-negotiate a promise. It feels good once it’s over but the initial conversation does not feel good. You will find that, the more you stick to this process, the more you say “No” to projects up front. Not because you are fearful of commitment because you will discover the incredible value of giving your word to something and completing it.
That being said, you must also remain open to the opportunities that your true desires are presenting. I can’t tell you how many focused people I have coached who find themselves 10 years into a dream only to discover that 3-4 years ago it stopped being fun and now they are killing their dream as fast as they can.
Life is evolving. Life is emerging. Each new place in life helps you to see from a different vantage point. Those new vantage points give you insights and desires that pull you in new directions. Don’t let The Drunk Monkey tell you that new is bad. Consider that your current promises are leading you to new promises and some of your old promises must be canceled to make room.
You are evolving. Roll with it. Life is flexible and fluid. Be the tree that bends with the wind and you will have a long and prosperous life. (Oops that is my love of the Tao coming through 🙂