Stop wearing your wishbone
where your backbone ought to be.
Over a fantastic Mexican lunch, a girlfriend was telling me of folks she knew. They were “granola crunchers” – feel good spiritualists who relied heavily on good energy and positive thinking. They were mediators and crossed legged hummers.
“You probably wouldn’t like them,” she says between burrito bites.
After the initial surprise of her comment, I suppose I can concede how one might assume that. I tend to toe a hard line when it comes to personal responsibility and action. I also tend to harbor quite a bit of disdain for lack of either – mostly in myself, often with others.
However, there is also a strong case to be made for my equal appreciation of positive thought and intentional attitude. Few things start a day off better than a strong cup of coffee and positive mental focus. I also do, in fact, have an affinity for granola and those who crunch it.
However, hanging out all day with the coffee, in your pjs, without forward motion makes all that positive energy worth little more than the used up grounds in the pot. It would be more accurate to say that while I do not prefer one without the other (positive thought and forward action), if had to start with one, I would certainly choose the latter. But that’s just me.
Regardless of which comes first, the truth of the matter is that only your gumption to put in motion that which you think to be beneficial to the surroundings will bring about effectual change. With the exception of the small population that can move things with nothing more than their thoughts, the rest of us are bound to produce through sleeve rolling.
Today, I encourage you to crunch granola while hiking up the challenge mountain. Remember that while it has been correctly stated that hope is not an action plan, it can provide the motivation and inner fortitude to move towards that thing hoped for. But, we must stiffen that backbone and get to moving. No matter what. It is not the difficulty of the road we are walking that breaks our stride. It is the willingness to allow our stride to be broken that creates disaster.
Thanks for the coffee,