In a Crisis?

And so we come to the end of another year, or so it might seem. I guess I'm lucky I'm one of those guys who thinks about Christmas on the 24th - right after I've knocked off for the day. Some would call it crisis management, but I call it live one day at a time - and I also have an incredible wife J

And yes, I really do plan ahead - a little - and as a details, pedantic kind of guy I do set goals, but in considering the near and distant future, I also plan to enjoy the present.

So watch out, any moment now, folks will be asking what you plan to do next year, what are your New Year's resolutions, what are your goals? And people who know better will remind you that your goals need to be smart - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. All good sense, and I don't disagree.

But what if you're like some of the people I've been talking to this week who feel like they're not getting anywhere, and for every step forward they've taken two steps back? What do you say to those who are discouraged and are afraid to set new goals because they've failed so badly already?

There are some who would remind us that Edison "failed" a thousand times before he invented the light bulb, but Wikipedia raises some doubts on that, and besides, who wants to look forward to 999 failures. I'm having enough difficulties with just my few...

So here are some thoughts:

One, it's not so important whether you achieve all you set out to do, it matters that you set out at all. So what if you fall over, that's how you learnt to walk. And if need be you can start by crawling, I promise not to laugh at you.

And two, you can only go backwards if you turn and walk away. So what if you're doing the old one step forwards, two steps back, you're still on the road, you're still on the journey and your future is still ahead of you. Who knows what might be just around the corner? Who knows when a fellow-traveller might help you out in some unexpected fashion?

And so what if other people don't help, or don't understand, or worse, remind you of every reason why you shouldn't even try.  It's your life, and it's your dream. There is only one person who can live it, and there's only one person who can achieve it - and that's you. And I believe in you. Kia Kaha.