Let’s say you are driving your car and you see a pothole and one side of your brain says, “Go around it,” and the other side completely ignores the warning signs and you drive right over it! How about when you are riding a bike and the same thing, you see a piece of glass and intuitively you know you should avoid it at all costs, yet you somehow manage to ride directly over it then wonder if any moment you will have a flat tire!

How often in life do we head right for the pothole and wonder why we have a flat?!

We realize the idea of the law of attraction, right? Where we look, we will follow!

If we look at a smooth road, one with health, vitality, energy and wealth, we will achieve it! Yet, if we look at the pothole (even though we really want to avoid it) we barrel right over the hole and wonder how many punctures we will have in our tire (or life).

Why is it we always look for the holes? Do we expect and LIKE to struggle? Do we only consciously understand the idea of working through a divot or land mine? What if we could adjust our thinking and focus on going around the potholes of life? We can see the holes, glass, sticks and puddles along the way, yet we simply choose to go around them and stay on smooth and safe surface! What a concept…simply “avoid” and go around the destruction!

In life, in our choices, in our day to day activities we truly CAN avoid these depilating obstacles; it’s a choice of where we look and head to.

This week, consider where your eyes veer, where your mind focuses and notice where on the road of life you wish to travel!

Have you ever tried to start an intense workout program, maybe lose some weight or try to embark on a major project only to get 80% of the way to your goal and realize it’s much harder than you anticipated so you give up?

I see people in the fitness field who embark on weight loss programs who want and need to lose 50, 75, 100 even 150 pounds. The thought of reaching the end goal can be more overwhelming than many of us imagine. Yet, I do see many succeed! I also see many give up. What is it that propels one person to persevere while others can’t seem to get over the hump?

I’ve given this a lot of thought lately and there are a number of factors. The first which comes to mind is desire – true grit desire. The person who, beyond all other obstacles wants it badly. When the obstacles arise, however, desire can take a back seat to frustration. So, then what? I notice community plays a role here. The person with desire leans on a support system of friends, coaches, teachers, leaders, books, and any other form of support. I see one person who can kick, scream, cry and LEAN on a support group to pull them through those dark times. This is their community.

You see, when we are trying to reach these goals (business, health, family) so many of us give up 80% of the way and are SO close, but that last 20% is the steepest mountain to climb. We feel we can’t go any further and no one can help us so we slide back down the hill, only in future months or years, look back up the hill and realize we need to climb it again. At this point, it might be an even steeper peak.

If this rings a bell to you, look at your desire, your grit, your sheer will, then look around and get a reality check on not doing this alone. Be vulnerable, be open, and let others know you need help. Don’t we ALL need help through life? Reach out to your support group and lean on those when you need to climb the last 20%. Your goals are valuable and your community wants to see you succeed. Once you reach the peak, the rest is a nice glide downhill and worth its weight (pun intended) in gold.

The other day I was doing a workout and doing a good part of my “work” on a block, meaning an unstable surface. It was quite challenging. After about 5 minutes of work and movement on a 6” x 4” spongy block, I then transferred the movements to the floor. Everything immediately was easier!

In life, we have times of work on a block (difficult, challenging times) and we have work on the floor (can be challenging, but more grounding and easier; allowing more confidence).

We can look at this a couple of ways, when we practice (life is a practice) we flow through floor work and when challenges arise, we balance on a block, wishing we were back on the floor.

Another way is to practice on the block instead of the floor; working on finding peace, ease and stability when our “life” gets unbalanced. Finding that place of calmness and confidence while not on the floor helps us to truly love and appreciate when our life is back on a flat and stable place.

Look at your challenges, how can you ease in to them, learn balance and find a source of serenity. You’ll be amazed how focused you can become and how truly appreciative you will be once you are grounded again. Quite possibly, you will find you can get grounded even on a spongy block!