The longer you’re out of it the harder it is to get back into it.

It’s been ten months since I went for a run and yesterday I headed out again. To be perfectly honest it felt absolutely awful, glad I did it, but it was gut wrenching!

This leads to another initiative I’m working on that includes a bit about meaningful connections taking time.

There’s an underlying assumption of insufficiency deeply entrenched in our society. The notion that we don’t have enough (time included), more is better, and that something takes time away rather than giving it time, are common, unconscious messages that surround us. We continue to perpetuate the idea of insufficiency.

By turning an insufficient mindset into one of sufficiency, we can shift from “not enough, need more” to “self-sufficiency, sharing and gratitude.” The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist talks about sufficiency as a way of being. A fund-raiser for The Hunger Project, Twist says that if we continue to give abundant aid to ‘the needy’ rather than coming from a place of believing and knowing that more is not better, that our world is sufficient, and that we are able to make a difference with what we have, world hunger will continue.

The self-fulfilling prophecy of poor, helpless people that need our help, is realized when the focus is on insufficiency. We continue to give more rather than honouring what is and turning the corner on world hunger.

An intentional shift from going after more to nurturing what we have is counter to the competitive nature of business and to what the majority of us have been duped into, more is better. Yep duped! Philanthropic programs and sustainable approaches are building steam, fantastic, so are we turning a corner?

That brings me back to the idea of the longer you’re out of it, the harder it is to get back into it. The longer you stay in the cycle of getting more, more money, gaining more status, producing more, more, more, the harder it is to get back into fulfilling and meaningful lifework.

With regards to meaningful connections, give them time to grow, honour and nurture them. Know that it might be tough at the start just like getting back into running, because you’re no longer part of society’s drive for more. You’re outside the whirlwind norm but when we get back into it we feel better and begin to connect on a more meaningful level.

Thoughts turn into words,
Words into actions,
Actions develop into habits,
Habits contribute to character,
Our character leads us to our destiny.
(source unknown)

What is your destiny?