It’s easy to get excited about the anticipated result. Much harder to remain excited about the process.
Every program, regardless of construction, will have its highs and lows. Even if the program wasn’t designed to take you on a roller-coaster ride, life itself conspires to take you on a wild goose chase. It doesn’t make it easy on you to win. It makes it hard.
It’s often been said that the shortest distance between two points is a line. But life is never moving in a line. It’s moving in zigs and zags, and in concentric circles.
The only time taking the shortest route ever seems to work out is when you’re driving from one location to another. Ever then, there are often interruptions. You must stop for bathroom breaks, meals, traffic lights, etc.
Gifts don’t always show up in the neat little packages you expect them to. They don’t always look like gifts. They look like problems to be solved. Or a ratty pair of shoes, an empty gas tank, a failing business.
The inevitable reaction is, “this is not at all what I expected!”
But that’s what expansion looks like. You won’t find expansion in your comfort zone. Expansion is wild, unexpected, new. It’s heart based.
The program may drive you nuts. But you’ve got to appreciate it for what it is. You’ve got to trust the process. If you don’t, you’ll get stuck in “something’s wrong.” We all have that context from when we were young. Anything unfamiliar or uncomfortable can potentially get lumped in with the “something’s wrong” pile, even when the outcomes we’re after are on the other side of it.
When you’re stuck on “something’s wrong,” you’ll quit. Even if you knew going in that the training was going to be on par with the severity of Ranger School.
Change your frame. Remember that you’ve left your comfort zone by signing up for the program in the first place. The program is doing what it’s supposed to do. The rest is how you respond. Even the most insane schedules will seem tame after a year of training. Give yourself time to get to that point.
