Take Initiative

Have you ever tried to stop an ant without killing it? It’s virtually impossible. They never stop.

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Put one to the test someday. Pretend like you’re a kid again, and make a small hill in an ant’s path. Then watch what happens… The ant will walk up and over the top of the hill without braking. It doesn’t matter what you put in the ant’s way, it’ll figure out a way around it in order to go where it needs to go. It’ll crawl along the side of a wall, go into a hole, over a tree stump, through the grass—it doesn’t matter. And if it can’t go through something, it will go around it. An ant will never turn around and walk the other way, no matter what obstacles are in its path. Try applying this kind of tenacity to your own life. Obviously, you’ll want to use your brain, too (you’re a lot smarter than an ant). But in the determination department, be like an ant. Refuse to be stopped. Continue overcoming any obstacles in your path. Keep going, make smart decisions, and learn as you go. The people who make their dreams a reality are the people who patiently persist.

Take initiative

If you could develop a new skill, what would it be? If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you could change one big thing about your life, what would it be? What’s stopping you from doing any or ALL of these things? You have the choice, don’t you? What would it feel like if you lived your life as a work of art in progress? If each breath and each action were part of an unfolding masterpiece? If you saw the shadows and light areas as part of the composition of the mosaic of your life? What if you accepted it all? The good and the bad? Found joy in the beauty of it? Where are your choices taking you?

What you make of the life you’ve got is up to you.

Every person creates his or her own reality. The beautiful thing about life is that you get to make choices about it—you are the author of your destiny. The power to choose is a right, yet so often people deny that they have the ability to choose the life they desire. They overlook the fundamental truth that it’s not our external circumstances or resources that determine our success or failure in life, but rather our belief in ourselves and our willingness to design a life according to our highest aspirations.

Time to take initiative.

1. What’s one thing you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t?
2. Whatever that thing is, take a minute to write it down.
3. Write down one simple thing (however small) you can do to get the ball rolling within the next 24 hours.
4. Take action. Take initiative.