175 Days ’til 40: Stepping Back to Move Forward

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. ~ Steve Jobs

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Tonight was another board meeting, the same routine (I almost said monotony, but the truth is the meetings tend to be very productive, sometimes exciting, and not monotonous).  Yet, although it was the same, it was different.  One very wise board member stopped our planning for the year.  She encouraged us to take a step back and re-evaluate what we are doing and why before we start planning for the future.  She was 100% correct.

Most people will find that they live their lives in reactionary ways.  We take each day as it comes and have short-term goals, rather than long-term goals.  Our need for instant gratification has greatly impeded our ability to look past a future a few seconds before us.  If we can muster the self-control to delay gratification long enough to reflect, we find that we discover deeper levels of meaning and satisfaction.  Reflection takes time, it takes emotional energy, and it takes the courage to be honest with oneself and others.  This is not easy.  Yes, when we pause and reflect, we find that it opens doors to tremendous personal growth.

Today we took a step back as a group and decided to reflect before we act.  I wish that life afforded us more opportunities to do so.  In our fast-paced world we too often find ourselves in reactionary modes, instead of contemplation.  This needs to change.

Today, 175 days ’til 40, I will strive to remember to reflect before I act.

~400daystil40