What’s wrong with this picture?  Look at the two plants in the header of this newsletter.  I bought both at the same time, from the same nursey, and placed them on my back patio about six feet away from each other.  Everything started great.  They were both thriving and beautiful.  Then one day, one of the plants began wilting.  What went wrong?  They both had such great potential, but now only one of them is thriving.  Something is wrong with the environment for the wilting plant.  Maybe it’s not getting enough sunlight and water.  It might be suffering from insects or disease.  If something doesn’t change soon, this plant is going to die.

This situation made me think of times when I started out thriving and ended up “wilting” from my environment.  The adverse effects of overwork, burnout, exhaustion, frustration, and lack of support took a toll on me, and I wasn’t my best self.  To make matters worse, it felt like everyone around me was thriving, and I was that wilting plant on its last legs.  If you’ve ever experienced something like this, or you’re experiencing it now, give this a try.

1. Dream It: Get out of your head, quit thinking about the past or your current situation.  Instead, think about your ideal future.  What could your life look like a few years from now?  What are you doing professionally, personally, and spiritually?  With whom are you sharing these experiences? What impact are you having? How would it feel to achieve this?  Talk with someone you trust to help draw out ideas for your dream.
2. Believe It: This is the hard part.  Now you need to start believing that you can achieve your dream.  Instead of telling yourself all the reasons you can’t, write down all the reasons you can.  What natural gifts and strengths do you have that will help you?  What knowledge and skills can you apply? What support networks and resources can you engage to help you?
3. Share It: Put that dream out into the universe.  Start telling people about your vision.  You’ll be amazed at how you will begin to attract people into your life to support your dream and help you move forward.
4. Become It: Now it’s time to get into action. What’s one small step you can take today that will move you closer to your dream?  What’s another step you can take tomorrow?  And the next day?  Sure, you will likely experience some failure along the way, but that’s how you’ll learn.  If you continue taking steps every day, you’ll accelerate your progress towards achieving your dream!

Please don’t allow yourself to wilt; we all deserve to have an environment where we can thrive.  Doing nothing will get you nowhere.  Dream it, believe it, share it, and you CAN become it!

Wishing you the best!

Amy