I’ve noticed something about my inbox lately. It’s been filled with renewal notices—publications, insurance, and everything in between.
The message is clear: Do you want to continue?
It has reminded me that March often brings its own kind of renewal notices—signals that it may be time to question the decisions and choices we made coming into the new year.
In some cases, that’s because we’ve gone through changes that have shifted things, including our focus.
In others, it might be that we’re just not seeing the progress we had hoped for, and discouragement is beginning to wave its flag of surrender.
Still other factors might be at play. The list has no definitive end for why we don’t, won’t, or even can’t finish everything we start.
I’ll admit that this was a struggle for me for many years. It may have come from childhood, where we had to finish everything on our plates. Ugh. But more likely, it came from the bombardment of messages we have all been subjected to: ‘winners never quit.’
But the reality is that winners quit more often than they finish. They’ve just gotten very good at deciding when and what to quit.
That’s been on my mind this past week as I’ve been looking at my own spectrum of ambition for this year. My focus word is RESOLVE. I knew that was the secret to my success in everything on my roster. I had to practice resolve. I had to do what I had resolved to do.
But what is interesting about that is that our resolve can remain to do something while still allowing us to find another path to get there.
That’s without question the most looming message for me this year. The path to success isn’t limited. The divergent thinking I’ve been talking about is showing me ways to achieve things that I had never considered.
The resolve is still there. But it’s now my resolve to get something done. Not for the way to make that happen.
We must each continuously adjust our decisions based on our own feedback, what we learn from others, accurate information, and changes around us. That is how we can stay responsive, relevant, and effective as we move toward the destination we’ve chosen.
This isn’t a new topic for me. So instead of writing something completely new this week, I went back to three pieces that each address a different perspective and approach for revisiting our decisions.
For those times when you just want to quit!
This article is from the blog, and it meets you in the moment before the moment. The one where you’re not sure if you’re being resilient or just stubborn.
The first part talks about the fact that there are two very different lenses we can use when we look at the question of whether or not to stay the course.
The second part includes five things to consider when you have decided you want to stay the course and need help doing that. I’m working on some follow-up thoughts for this now that talk about how to convert motivation to momentum.
If this is where you find yourself, the five points here are a good starting point.
Does This Still Matter?
Some of you have already joined me on Substack and are following my publication there, which is unfolding the story of my upcoming parable, The Possibility Factor.
Sometimes the question isn’t just whether to continue. It’s whether the destination still means what it once did. This one sits with that question.
This article looks at what happens when meaning changes and what we once thought was our center shifts.
Here’s a line from it that might meet you where you are:
“There are times when what we do doesn’t change, but our reason for doing it does. Sometimes that comes from a deepening awareness; other times it’s a natural realignment with a new season of life or work.”
It also looks at the value and need for refinement, at times, and draws on lessons I’ve learned as a potter.
Growth Doesn’t Always Announce Itself
This is the one I saved for last. It’s about the work that happens before the proof shows up.
It is from the Yes I Can Living community’s blog, where I am a contributor.
This article is my most recent post there, and it’s very specific to my opening for this week’s message to you. It’s about March, and it closes with this thought:
Growth doesn’t always announce itself.
Sometimes it unfolds in hidden layers, building roots before blossoms, strength before beauty. Sometimes it asks for patience before proof.
March holds the tension of that truth. It reminds us that life can be very active even when it appears still.
The bloom will come in its season.
Until then, there is important work happening underground.
Reflection
One of my favorite quotes, which remains at the front of nearly every journal I have kept for a number of years, comes from Andrew McCarthy, written during a time of his own personal reawakening.
“There’s a certain moment in every memorable journey, often recognized only in hindsight, when the trip you are on presents itself, and the one you thought you were taking or had planned is jettisoned. It’s then that you begin really traveling, not merely touring.”
Across the three articles I’ve shared with you, there’s a shared message, even as they take it on through different lenses.
The questions for each of us are simple.
Where are you in your quest?
What needs to be examined?
What is it that it may be time to release?
What needs more time to grow?
If you’re unsure, remember this: You’re not in this alone.
Legacy is communal. Honest audits benefit from witnesses. Named desires get stronger when spoken to someone who can hold them with you.
I am here to help.
