Can You Fly?

As you begin the New Year, take a moment to reflect on your goals and your expectations. Those first days following the holiday celebrations are a great time to review your plan for the coming year and make any final adjustments. Pay particular attention, as you fine-tune your objectives and your strategies, to that little voice in your head. You know the one: the voice that pops up and tells you some of your goals may be a little too lofty. That slight feeling of negativity that creeps up and quietly suggests you should perhaps… think about… maybe considering… possibly… revising that weight loss target – or that promotion. It is the voice of doubt that tells you a promotion would be a better goal for next year; after all, this year is going to be a tough year. As a matter of fact, this voice inside suggests, just getting through the next twelve months without weight gain will be accomplishment enough. Spend more time with family? Earn a promotion? Lose weight? “Why don’t we save the truly aggressive goals for next year, when we are more prepared” is the very logical compromise often proffered by the little ‘helper’ inside us all.

The thing to remember as you review your plan is this: the little voice is not real and the only limitation you have is the limitation you put on yourself. Earlier this year the imaginary nature of limitation was laid bare for me by my 4 year old son. I was taking him to school on a fine, crisp morning and it was too beautiful to drive. As we walked along, holding hands, we watched a large, black bird make lazy circles in the sky. My son looked up at me and asked: “Wouldn’t it be fun to fly Daddy?” I told him that I thought it would be great fun to soar high above the houses and all the people. Then he asked me if we could fly. Here it is I thought to myself: the beginning of the end of childhood. With a twinge of melancholy I looked once more at his innocent face, let go his hand and set in to explain that we can not always do the things we would most like in this life. I struggled to put into words the limitations that we all face as individuals and how we should endeavor to accept them while not losing sight of our goals. I looked down to gauge his reaction and was surprised to discover I had been talking to myself. You see, he was already half way down the street; arms stretched to their limit as mighty wings, legs turning over at breakneck speed, wind hitting him in the face and the wonderful giggling sounds of a four year old trailing behind him. He was flying. And as I began to sprint after him, arms stretched wide, the wind in my face and laughter erupting from somewhere deep inside, I realized how wrong I had been. We can fly… we can do anything we put our minds and our imaginations to if only we mix in a little belief and a lot of persistence.

This year, as you review your goals and take those first, tentative steps toward their achievement, remember that you can indeed fly. You can achieve more than you think possible if only you heed the wisdom of these great words from Jonathon Livingston Seagull: “They can, because they think they can.”

I wish you happiness and prosperity this year, but most of all I wish for you to soar.

To Your Success,

Sean