'It isn't the mountains ahead that
wear you out--It's the grain of sand in your shoe.'
Robert
William Service, Scottish Poet 1874-1958
What's Wearing on You?
What is
the grain of sand in your shoe wearing you out—that annoyance present in the
back of your mind wearing you down? What's grating on you today?
Perhaps
·
You're
waiting for the other shoe to drop at work;
·
You
can't seem to get the landlord to fix that hole in your ceiling the rain is
leaking through;
·
You
have a good paying job—but the daily work is soul-killing;
·
You've
got a job you really enjoy—but its 600 miles from your home and family.
How Little Annoyances Affect Life
Satisfaction
No matter
how good our lives are, we all face trials in our daily lives that can wear us down.
Truth is even if our lives are excellent overall, we still measure our life
satisfaction by the least satisfying parts—i.e. those grains of sand.
The Daily Grind
Linda,
almost 60 and divorced, has a beautiful home, grown children, a dog, a network
of great friends-- and a new great-paying job. So what's the grain of sand in
her shoe? Her new job took her 600 miles away from her friends and home. She's uncomfortable
living in her new apartment in a city filled with never-ending traffic and
cement sidewalks. She misses the wooded trails where she walked with her dog
enjoying the great outdoors. While the money is good in her new job, her daily
quality of life has taken a nosedive. She dreams of moving back home.
Liz, a 21
year old, taking a full load of college courses and working full time loves her
apartment with its hardwood floors and spacious rooms, conveniently located
adjacent to the bus line to work and school. Her grain of sand is the huge
gaping hole in her apartment ceiling. Mold is growing and she is worried about
her health. She doesn't want to move—especially since she's in the middle of
the school term-- and really doesn't have the time to look for another place.
At Forty,
Julian has just finished a higher degree, loves his chosen work, home and
partner. What's the grain of sand wearing him down? His hometown market may be too small to
support his work. If he wants to do what he loves he may need to work and live
elsewhere—and leave his home and partner behind. The idea of a long-distance
relationship leaves him cold.
Don't Ignore Your Grain of Sand, Acknowledge
it
Face it—we
all have difficult decisions to make these days. The difficulty of choosing
between two less-than-optimum options often leaves us making no decision at
all—and this unresolved dilemma goes underground and begins to wear on us like
the grains of sand in our walking shoes.
The
problem with grains of sand in our shoes is rather than choosing to stop to
remove them we try to ignore them as we continue traveling on the road of life.
Without acknowledging and embracing them we can find no relief.
Find Your Pearl
Rather
than letting your grain of sand wear you down, let it build you up. In a clam,
that grain of sand has the potential of creating a pearl. You too have the
possibility of creating something exquisite and beautiful in your life through
that daily grind forcing you to pay attention to what's working and what's not.
Granted, grains of sand in our walking shoes are irritating and annoying—but they
make us pay attention. Stop ignoring the irritation in your life, acknowledge
and embrace it. Choose to reach through the current irritation to create a
better life.
Four Steps
to Turn SAND into Your Pearl
1. Acknowledge and embrace the Irritation.
Let yourself become aware and fully conscious of what's grating on you. Name
it. Sit in it.
2. Keep on Walking. Do nothing. Let the
irritation grow your awareness to produce your life pearl.
3. Stop. When you're ready--take off your
shoes and shake it off. Choose your next action.
4. Start A New Direction--Take a step—any step—away
from your irritant towards a better life.
Start
A
New
Direction
What's Your PEARL?
What PEARL can you create out of your grains
of sand? Play with the letters in PEARL
to create a positive picture of what you can create out of your grain of sand.
Possibilities, Enthusiasm,
Acceptance, Relationships, Love
Playful, Enjoyable,
Action-oriented, Reliable, Loyal
'Each morning we are born again. What
we do today is what matters most.'
The Buddha
Do you need help turning your grain of
sand into a pearl?
For more than
25 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over
invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts
you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before. Contact Susan to
schedule one or on-going life change coaching sessions.
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