What if you were the Angel you were waiting for?

Marianne Williamson wrote an amazing book called "Everyday Grace". One of the things she talks about is how people have this tendency to wait and hope for an angel or guidance from "out there" to help them along in life. She poses the question, "What if you were the angel you were waiting for?"

Wow, what a concept! Instead of waiting for something outside of yourself to "save" or "rescue" you, be the answer you are waiting for.

So why is that so difficult for us? I think part of it has to do with old voices in our heads that tell us we aren't good enough. If you think about it, that is allowing your past to run your life. Years ago, I heard this comment that really stuck with me. It went something like this: "Does the wake push the boat or does the motor push the boat?" (The wake is the trail of water pushed aside by the movement of a boat/vessel through water.) Of course, we all know the motor pushes the boat, but there are those of us who live our lives as though the wake or our past runs the show, controls how we live and feel and the story we tell about ourselves. Those of you who have been boating know that a wake at the wrong angle can capsize your craft!

I'll allow that visual to settle in with you while I continue this article.

A good many of us need to reframe the voice in our head. We need to believe in ourselves. As Albert Einstein said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." Maybe you are like a fish and need to find your own pond rather than try to climb a tree.

The other thing we need to completely accept is that no one else believes 100% in you but...you! Chris Brogan, who I admire and follow, says it this way:

"Your significant other wants you to be happy, but he or she also has a boatload of challenges and problems and issues to work on, as well, so that can hamper the experience. Your boss doesn't want you to succeed. Your boss wants work to go very well. Your clients don't want you to succeed. Your clients want to be the hero in their own story, with your help. Yes, ultimately, most people want other people to do well, but accept that you own your success."

My youngest sister, who has six children, works full time and is completing her college degree. She just turned 50 and was bemoaning  the fact that she will be 52 by the time she graduates. Her college mentor, obviously a very wise man, asked her, "So how old will you be if you don't get your degree?"

She believes in herself and wants to better her life, career and income. No one else is going to come along to do that for her. Life has this tendency to keep on rolling along. We have a choice. We can either wait for success, relationship, money, something better...or do something about it.

And yet, wanting and doing are two different things. How does one get started? While I personally like the Nike tagline, "Just do it!", action without a plan can quickly lead to frustration. Most of us don't know how to create an action plan based on goals. Maybe goals have been written down somewhere, only to be lost in a pile of papers.

Without this sounding like a sales pitch, I'd like to recommend a new website with lots of free tools for goal setting. It's called Summit Journey Coaching. It's free to sign up, your work is completely private and you are guided through the process of creating a personal vision, mission statement, goals and an action plan you can check off as you work towards your goals. You also have access to motivational videos to help you along your path. When, and if, you are ready, there are opportunities to hire a coach, but the founders of Summit Journey are passionate about sharing these free tools to help others and I appreciate that.

We do have an inner genuis and we are the angel we've been waiting for. Vikor Frankl, who wrote "Man's Search for Meaning", said, "We detect rather than invent our missions in life."  This is an opportunity to get out of that tree and discover your pond.

So tell me, if you owned your own success what would that look like for you?

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