MAWMonday Motivators 05/21/2017

by: Dr. Michael A. Wright In Blog, Coaching DiaryTagged , , , , , ,

Forced to Launch

Last week was about loss. This week is about launch. It follows logically. After you stare, flat on your back at rock bottom and make the choice to get up again, the choice is both physical and mental. Perhaps the greatest challenge is with the emotions. Emotions that come from what ifs, felt mistakes, regrets, and pride. These moments are ripe for a harvest. Your launching is an early morning rise with a plan to work past sunset. Turn what ifs into why nots. Turn felt mistakes into intentionalities. Turn regrets into redirection. Turn pride into caring and compassion that you can be proud of. In other words, realize that your purpose was never to control what manifested, but to allow meaning to blossom into legacy. Don’t just get up from where ever you find your self. Launch!

1. What Ifs

Let’s be real. There is a great possibility that you could amount to nothing. But, I suspect that the ship has already sailed on that option. You have already achieved beyond what was easy. To even consider the prospect of something more is to reach beyond the ordinary. Excellence begins with that thought. Your task is to find ways to put that thought into action. And when fear comes, as it always does, ask “Why not?”

2. Make Mistakes

Honestly, you will make mistakes. But, you cannot let that be a source of fear. Mistakes are just learning experiences that you did not expect. They are often more costly than you anticipated. And, they require more energy to overcome than reading lessons from a book. But, make them. Push forward. Divine your purpose through intentional action. And, when you are climbing out of the hole, intentionally file away the lesson. Don’t make the same mistake ever again.

3. No Regrets

When you are tempted to think of regrets, remember three things. First, remember the joy and self-reliance of your ability to make a choice. Right or wrong, for good or ill, you chose. You can choose again. Second, it not your fault, but it is your responsibility. No matter what the explanation says about your last choice, you have the responsibility to make the next choice. Make it count. Third, remember that the answer is rarely multiple choice. Don’t get caught up attempting to regain the normalcy that you previously had been sold. Consider new directions and uncommon choices.

4. Embarrassment

I think the worse feeling is to be misused, lied on, or misled. But, it is less about how you were treated and more about what the perpetrators get to say. We often want them to pay in some way or at least to know the pain they have caused. But, that is not justice. Often, it is the response to our own embarrassment. To be played and to have fallen for the game.

Take heart in the fact that you approached the interaction with honor, clear conscience, and genuine caring. The person you are is not a person of revenge or chaos. You are an authentic purveyor of compassion and competence. Allow karma to deal with the past. Your task is to satisfy the karma of your potential legacy. Don’t leave any good deed undone. Make sure that the mark you leave on the world is a series of which you can feel proud.

5. Meaning & Purpose

Timing. It is all about timing. As the title of this piece suggests, launching is sometimes forced. Your time is sometimes over processed and over thought. You know the discomfort with the status quo and the mundane. You know the pressure of the rat race and the unfair evaluations of those who lord over you. Yet, you prepare for your timing.

Two things: First, it will never be time if you wait for your time. You will always have an excuse or explanation for “not now.” Second is more important. Second, you have been missing the point all along. Tell me you haven’t. If you lived the point, you would realize the conformity of the status quo, the soul-crush of the mundane, the diminished humanity of racing with rats, and the justice-drain of being under. Every moment there is time away from the love, joy, and laughter that really sustains you and is a better reason for facing each new sun. Your purpose was never to become. Your purpose is to be. That means realizing who you are, monetizing what you do, perfecting residuals, all while giving you genuinely to those who need authentic examples. That all of us. Now, Launch!

Dr. Michael A. Wright received his Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina - Columbia. Since 1997, Wright has led MAWMedia Group, LLC, a firm helping individuals and organizations tell stories and translate ideas into capital.