One Step at a Time

“We live and we learn to take one step at a time, there’s no need to rush. It’s like learning to fly or falling in love. It’s gonna happen when it’s supposed to happen, and we find the reasons why, one step at a time.” – Jordin Sparks

Although I don’t subscribe to the literal definition, I am a big believer in fate. I believe that things happen for a reason and that they happen how and when they are supposed to happen, IF we allow it. Those that follow the literal definition of fate and destiny often believe that events can’t be changed and will happen regardless of our choices, like the premise of the movie Serendipity. But to me that discounts the agency that we were all given before we came to earth. Our choices have consequences and how we interact with our environment and the people in it often determines the outcome – good or bad.
There are times, however, when good or bad things happen and we can’t really pinpoint the reason directly to our actions. Of course it is usually easier to find a direct relationship to our actions when good things happen and it’s harder to find when bad things happen. In modern revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith we learn that all things give us experience and that experience “…shall be for [our] good” (D&C 122:7). So when I start to feel sorry for myself or feel like giving up because life is getting a little too hard, I remember that if I continue to take things one step at a time and don’t give up I will become stronger and be more capable of handling anything that comes my way.

Under Pressure

“Insanity laughs under pressure, we're cracking. Can't we give ourselves one more chance?” – Queen & David Bowie

Have you ever felt the pressure of trying to accomplish a goal? It is hard enough just to come up with a realistic goal in the first place. I would like to be a size 6, write a bestselling book, fly to the moon, bike across America, and adopt at least one child from each of the six inhabited continents in the world, but when reality sets in those things probably won’t happen in my lifetime. I’m not saying that they couldn’t happen I am just not willing to stretch myself and make the necessary sacrifices it would take to accomplish them. So that probably means I don’t really want them right?

More realistic goals for me would be to lose 20 pounds and get closer to a healthy weight, donate to NASA research, bike around the city, and prepare myself to have kids whether they come from me or someone else. As for writing a bestselling book I probably need to hone my writing skills so I am going to test the waters in a blog. Virtual reading is the wave of the future anyway so it might just prepare me for what is expected ten or twenty years from now when I have enough courage and data to share my stories of weight loss, bike riding, parenting, space travel and other fun adventures. Stay tuned.