Destiny-A Time In Our Season Part 2

Destiny, A Time In Our Season, Part 2.
In part one of this article, I shared some of my experiences and test of faith in regard to my own destiny. The response to the article was the same from Michigan to Germany; too many of us are working in a box everyday of our life. To NOT know who we are or what we are really called to do in life can be very painful. I want to share with you the most common hindrances or obstacles that can keep you from reaching your goals.
I already mentioned other people. That is a huge one for everyone. I will go back there for just a few words. Realize that if someone in your life does not celebrate your success, you may need to rethink your ties to that person. Always have an open mind regarding your relationships and know why a person is there. Some people are sent to us to help move our lives forward. Some people really need our help. Some people want nothing and they want you to have nothing faith in yourself. They feed off of your weakness and cause it to grow like a cancer cell until you yourself feel that you cannot move forward.
The next one, fear of failure. Our fear of failure is the response to something that did not work in the past or words of discouragement and doom. Usually we are hard on ourselves because of someone else’s influence. I have had associates that used every opportunity to “talk down” on anything and everything that I tried to do, while I was encouraged to pat them on the back every moment. The reality of anything new is that we will never learn how to really do it right unless we do it wrong. Everyone has to experience this lesson in our personal lives, relationships with others and in business dealings. Some of the problems that we face were caused by the lack of knowledge, education and self-confidence. We can‘t blame others for not at least trying. You should have control over that part of your life. Also, never fear the end of a thing that you have not began. You cannot worry about your business folding if you have not filed business papers. You should not predict a failed relationship before you have a date. Don’t be concerned that you won’t make the 50-pound mark in weight loss , work on the first 5. These are just a few things that people, including myself deal with daily. The impact of these small statements is the tragedy of never even finding out what the end would have been.
Low Self Esteem. I have had so many corporate managers in the past ask me questions about my business and management style. I’ve been asked whether I had a Fortune 500 company because of my business savvy and sales techniques. At the end of the day, all I saw in the mirror was someone who did not love me. Somehow that was told over and over again that the dreams that I had were stupid, dumb and foolish. My education was not enough, my looks would not be marketable, so on and so forth. It took an everyday practice to begin to live without the validation or opinion of those who were in my life. If someone NEVER compliments me, I have to know for myself that I did a job well done. This brings me to my final point for this article.

The past. What has happened in our past holds us captive in the box. Outside of our pain is an entire world of variety and creativity . There is something and someone out there that is waiting for you to step up to the plate and do what you are destined to do. The element that is missing out of most of our lives when it comes down to being free from our past is walking away. The life of elephants that are trained for entertainment and other purposes out of captivity is a lesson that we can use for our lives. Elephants are trained standing in one area with tethers or chains around their ankles. Trainers are encouraged to use tethering on the animals at an early age so that they can be more excepting of restraint as they grow older. Researchers have noted that over 50% of elephants spend their time engaged in repetitive side-to-side weaving. When the shackles come off, they don’t leave from the area or box that they have been chained to for so long. Their minds are conditioned to stay in one place. They just rock back and forth not knowing that they are free. Our lives can be very similar to that of the elephant in captivity. We simply rock back and forth in our mind excepting bondage that is no longer a part of our lives. What elements in your life are you physically free from that continue to hold you down? Take the challenge to look inside of yourself and then look outside the box, that is were your destiny begins.

Copyright Karen L. Donald, October,2008