I’ll bet you never thought of yourself as a swimming pool. This analogy has a couple levels to it, so stick with me.
I take care of maintaining my pool like some people rake a zen garden. It’s become a peaceful ritual for me. I take pride in a crystal clear pool. A little more than two weeks ago I noticed a little algae starting. That happens this time of year so I planned on taking a water sample to the pool store. One day turned into a few and then a week and I hadn’t made the time to go get the water tested. Each day I would look at the condition of the pool, look at my day and decide that I would go tomorrow. Have you ever done that with anything in your life? Possibly even in your own self-care?
I assessed the situation and made the decision that other things on my calendar were more important and this wasn’t critical. That is, of course, until it was. Isn’t it funny how you can watch something occur and basically ignore it at the same time? You probably haven’t ever done that before, have you?
Then one morning I get up and go out to look at the pool and the water is looking more green than blue, but I can still see the bottom of the deep end. It hasn’t gone too far, but it has gone far enough that I understand today is the day I will make the time to go take the water in. Have you done this with projects, family things, maybe even taking care of your health?
I go to the pool store and I’m told everything is good except for the algae and all I need is a couple bags of shock. Now I’m feeling vindicated. I knew what I was doing all along and I didn’t wait too long, it’s a simple fix and we’ll be swimming tomorrow, or so I thought. This is the place where you may do this with your self-care or listening to the messages of your emotions or your body. And then allowing yourself to get pulled into a false sense of security.
The next morning the pool was a murky green and I couldn’t see half way down to the bottom. Oh, oh! This is not according to plan. What is going on? I went over the instructions again in case I had missed something. Nope, I did everything in the correct order. Was I too late, had I created a bigger problem by procrastinating? I brushed the pool twice that day and stared at it a lot, hoping that would clear it up. The next morning it looked even worse. Now I’m really scratching my head. I brushed it twice more that day, held the faith that I had done what was necessary to correct the problem and went to bed. I had done all I could do and that was that. YOu know how it feels when you get to that point with something you’ve put a lot of effort into and it doesn’t look like it’s going your way?
The next morning the pool was almost totally clear, I brushed it again, put in some clarifier and in a matter of hours my beautiful pool was back! Clarifier, an interesting name don’t you think? You do what you can, trust that the rest will be taken care of, return to look at your results, do a little clarifying and soon you get the result you were looking for.
I have been very mindful on the state of the water for the last few days since clearing up the algae. I can’t believe how amazing the color of the pool looks and how much more time I want to spend sitting and looking at it or having my feet in the poll while I’m on the phone. It’s interesting how much more we appreciate something after it’s been taken away and then we get it back. I always loved the color of the pool but after looking at it being green for a period of time, it’s like I’m seeing it for the first time again. So, ask yourself where there are places in your life that you may be so used to seeing things that you don’t really see it anymore, you just take it for granted.
Have you heard the saying, the way you do one thing is the way you do everything? The fact that I gave taking care of the pool issue such low priority has allowed me to look at where else in my life I may be placing myself as a lower priority and making business tasks more important than they need to be. As a passionate business owner I know that sometimes I make my business a priority over everything else. Now I know that half an hour to take care of something else can save me hours down the road.
I think I’ll go for a swim!
If you would like personal mentoring, send me an email detailing what you would like help with. As your mentor I hold a bigger vision for you than you hold for yourself. When you have faith and a team that believes in you, it gives you courage. When you don’t have to do it all yourself, all things are possible for you. Commit today to go for your dream 100%.
With 32 years in sales and marketing, along with 38 years studying human behavior, Lynn Pierce, “The Success Architect,” mentors entrepreneurs and information marketers to reach the pinnacle of success. Tell Lynn what the life of your dreams looks like, and she’ll create the blueprints to get you there, along with the sales system to fund it. Author of, “Breakthrough to Success; 19 Keys to Mastering Every Area of Your Life”, Lynn Pierce’s personal growth and business acceleration systems help her clients get three times the results in half the time with one tenth of the effort. Claim your free special report, “What Do You Stand For; A No B.S. Guide to Creating Your Own Personal Manifesto” at http://LynnPierce.com
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