@Scotty17 30 August 2021

Ready, Set, Grow!

Stuck in a rut? Hopeless? Frustrated? Always broke? Run down? Tired? Depressed? Angry? Undecided? Jobless? Been there, done that, but had the steal the t-shirt, because I couldn't afford it. Life isn't the proverbial bowl of cherries people make it out to be, as we have all found out through our respective experiences. Daily struggles can wear our spirits down to the point we'd rather just hop in bed and sleep life away. Or drink ourselves into a walking coma. Any many do these things because they refuse to grow. Opportunities There is no lack of opportunity but rather a lack of vision. **Cause and effect** is one principle that matters in a person's life. This is to say that whatever you do today will impact your tomorrow. Drink today, hangover tomorrow. Bad decisions today, regrets tomorrow. Tears today, lingering pain tomorrow. Life is an unending series of causes and effects. How are you treating others in your circle? Are they a means to an end? If so, you're already on a wrong path. We need to treat **everyone** as equals, rich or poor, intelligent or otherwise, and **love them as we love ourselves**. How about your work habit? Do you slumber when you should be working? Do you procrastinate? The effort, even the **extra effort** you put in at work or whatever you do today, will play a significant role in the development of your future. Trust me, your boss is watching, your loved ones are watching, and your inner self is watching. Get after it!

And if you have no employment, get some! Ready We have to be mentally stable and prepared to put out best foot forward. Emotional stability is a key factor in your growth. Constant whining, hissy fits and a lack of self-motivation are for toddlers, not for people who profess to be adults. Even ants, who live for a few days to a few weeks at most, are self-motivated!

**Get a grip**. Feeling sorry for yourself will not magically get you out of the rut of daily life. Never has, never will. Also, depending on others is simply idleness, slothfulness, and moreover leads to an increased inability to make daily, critical decisions. **Get ready**! Why would you want to live like this? Oh, you hate yourself? No, you don't. You love yourself, you just hate where you're at in life - you despise your present condition or situation. But either/or can and **should change**. Set Get set. How? **Plan**. Adulting is complex. Getting set takes some organization. It necessitates that an individual set some **priorities** in order that the most important things s/he does are completed 100% of the time, while the rest are accomplished as frequently as humanly possible.

This doesn't mean you have to work 18 hours a day (though I do). Idle hands are the devil's workshop. And while we all need leisure time, exercise and relaxation, we were born to work, produce and enjoy the fruits of our labor, as well as share them with others. Grow Once you have wallowed in your misery long enough, and have made a conscious decision to make a plan to grow, you have to set your plan in motion and be ready to alter the plan and/or change directions when obstacles appear, because they will.

Additionally, you have to hold yourself accountable. Integrity is key. Integrity is what you do when nobody is watching. Know yourself and make the necessary changes to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. Yeah, you'll slip up. We all do. But we must make the necessary changes and press on towards positive growth. Whenever you or I put something into motion, we have to come to understand that this is **our choice** and not something that merely happens. Cause and effect, remember? Our choices have several probable outcomes. However, whatever we pick **as** an outcome we desire to see come to fruition, we are responsible for it. Therefore, we need to take responsibility or own up to whatever we do at all times. Growth comes in spurts. Change is a process. If it was an easy process, everyone would be living a satisfactory or blissful life. But that's not reality, friends. The ball is yours It's in your court. Will you pass the opportunity to another and continue in your present miserable condition? Or will you hold the ball, move it down the court of life and score a win for you and your loved ones? Your call, your choice. Misery loves company. Choose growth when others refuse to do so.