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Whenever we contemplate a change in our present career
we usually hear two voices raging back and forth within
our mind:
One says: "Is this somewhere you want to be and
something you want to do for the rest of your life?"
If the answer is "YES"
The other voice says: "I don't know. Perhaps this
is not the right time."
And so the dialogue goes - while in our innermost spirit
we know that "waiting for the right time"
is often just another name for procrastination.
The truth is that there will probably never be a right
time. Conditions will always be difficult. Obstacles
will always be in your way that you must overcome. You
will always leave some piece of you behind, a piece
of work that is unfinished, perhaps something you feel
you have earned. It will always be a challenge if you
decide to launch out into the deep and mysterious destiny
to which you feel called by the dreams of your soul.
Yet a time comes in each of our lives when we know that
we simply must accept that challenge. When we must go
forward and do what we really want to do with our life
no matter how hard the choice, no matter how hard the
times, and no matter how difficult the struggle in our
minds may be. We know that there is always a chance
that we may not succeed, but we know that we will never
feel that we have really lived our life until we at
least try.
In some ways it is a journey in which we cannot fail.
Even if we are not able to pull it off in a way that
the world calls "successful", we know that
we will at the very least be a better man or woman for
having tried. There is something about adversity and
challenge that tests and refines character, just as
fire tempers steel. A challenge towards growth and change
- willingly accepted - can often bring out the very
best in us. If nothing else, it brings clarity of vision.
Is this the time? Only you can know. Only you can tell
yourself if that time has come for you to take the challenge
to succeed, to stretch yourself and try. If the time
has come for you, then one thing I can tell you is that
it will involve a level of commitment… some hard
thinking and work on your part. I can also tell you
that I wish I had done it 15 years before I did. Even
so, I am very grateful now that I can truthfully say;
"I am glad I did" rather than "I wish
I had". I know far too many people who cannot say
the same.
Partially excerpted from "What
Color is Your Parachute" By Richard Nelson Bolles
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