Just Do The Next Right Thing
Consistency will forever and always be the biggest indicator of our chance at achieving a dream. We have to stick to the basics of what our dream demands. We have to show up every day, week, and month in whatever way our dream needs. Rain or shine, we do what we need to do. It’s only through that consistency that we can make real progress towards our dreams.
Consistency builds our skills. The more we do something, the better we get at it and the easier it is to complete. Every time we miss a day, we take a step backward. Often, our skill level compounds on itself. We either maintain where we are at or we improve, but when we miss a session, we can end up slipping behind that standardized mark we had established.
Consistency also builds connection. Think of how many friendships were established because we consistently showed up for one another. Being in school together made friends easier to develop because we showed up in the same place at the same time to do the same thing almost every day of the week. With my dream, I have to build a platform. As much as being social media famous was never my goal, connecting with people was. The reality is that social media is a critical tool for meeting people. And while I know very little about the algorithm, I do know that it favors the people who show up regularly.
If we have to pick one thing related to our dreams to get good at, then I recommend being consistent with the basics. For me, that means writing a post for every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It also means posting something on social media non-blog related every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday/Sunday.
The problem with being consistent is that it is HARD! Every time I show up, the activity gets a little easier. It starts to feel more natural to do. And yet, it is still so much easier not to do it. If I could shake off the guilty voice in my head, this post certainly would not go up tonight.
The trick is to figure out what the bare minimum basics are for our dreams so that we can commit to accomplishing them even when the rest of our lives are chaotic. Today, we finally mostly finished packing the house and loaded everything into the storage unit. Thankfully, we had some fantastic friends come over and help with the heavy lifting so that I could finish up some packing and keep the baby out of the way. I am not a good person to call if you need help moving, but at least I know my limits. Tomorrow, we will clean, straighten, paint, and finish off any other last-minute adjustments that need to be made to have the house ready for photos on Friday.
I’m exhausted. And on top of the craziness of the homefront, they found a bunch of stuff on the inspection for our future house. Ideally, the sellers will fix everything, and we’ll still be good to go to closing, but we may also be approaching a point where we walk away from this house and try to find another. Luckily, as much as I do love this house, there is quite a bit I don’t like, so I think I will be okay letting it go if it comes to that. There are definitely some safety concerns to think about, and we really want something that is move-in ready for when we go in January.
There’s a lot going on right now. I am so tired, drained, and just ready for all of this to be over with. It is so tempting to push my dream to the back burner. If I hadn’t gone public with it, I am pretty confident that I would have done that already. So what do we do when life is tough, but we don’t want to let go of our dreams? We just do the next right thing. I don’t know how many remember that song from Frozen 2, but it was pivotal for me.
I watched the movie for the first time when my husband was at SERE. He had just come out of the torture part and wasn’t handling it very well. I don’t know many details about what happened there, and I doubt I ever will. I do think we need to be more open and honest about what our servicemembers actually go through and deal with after an experience like that. I know my husband felt like he was failing because he was struggling with what he had gone through.
I was struggling with our first separation after getting married. And I was very much still in a negative mindset about military life. Every little or big thing that went wrong felt like a window opening to talk him out of resigning his contract. All that to say, I was very lost and certainly at a loss for words of how to help my husband, who was across the country in pain. That’s when I watched Frozen 2, and, of course, I bawled during this song.
When I heard it during that time, I was in a season of pain and sadness. My life was changing drastically every moment as I went through that separation and prepared for a major move. Today, it’s not sadness that is bothering me. Instead, it is stress and worry that I am feeling. But all those lyrics remain true. I want to succumb to this darkness and just push through to the end, never recognizing the beauty that is happening along the way. No matter how strongly I feel that way, though, I hear that tiny voice say, “You must go on and do the next right thing.”
That’s my dream talking. That’s my dream, reminding me of what matters. That’s my dream telling me to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand rather than the 14 in front of me. At this time, I will just do the next right thing. The day will come when I have the capacity for more again, but it’s okay that that day isn’t today. I can remain proud of myself for staying in the game, and every win, no matter how small, is a win that gets me one step closer to my dream coming true.