It's the climb...

Trust30 post for the day...

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down a major life goal you have yet to achieve or even begin to take action on. For each goal, write down three uncertainties (fears) you have relating to each goal. Break it down further, and write down three reasons for each uncertainty. When you have three reasons for your fear, you’ll be able to start processing the change because you know where the fear stems from. Now you’ll be able to make a smaller changes that push you towards your larger goal. So begins the process of “trusting yourself.”

Life goal: Become a world class chef and end up on the Food Network

Uncertainties: 

1) That I won't follow through with the basic training I need to be a high caliber chef 

Reasons for this "uncertainty" : a) because I often start projects I am passionate about but I either loose interest, get distracted or do not have the time to devote to it and so I move on to the next "thing."  b) because I may have to go outside of South Carolina to get the necessary training and experience needed to become a master chef. c) because I won't have the support I need from those around me to commit to the grueling task of culinary school or another form of similar training.  Not that they wouldn't "support" me per say, just that, we usually just try to keep our heads above water these days and get by during these very hard economic times....so if right now, today, this veeeeeeery second I said, "Hey! I wanna go to culinary school and take over the world one crème brulee at a time...," I'm not certain how much approval/support it would receive. 

2) That I won't have the financial means to being pursuing this dream

Reasons for this "uncertainty" : a) because while we have always had enough to make it by, and truly I am grateful for this and I know I am extremely blessed, we have never had any extra money to throw around for "dreams."  It doesn't help that the economy and my husband's high education and experience level are keeping him unemployed.  It also doesn't help that the one industry, teaching, which was supposed to ALWAYS need people, hasn't been hiring in this state for over 3 years thus leaving me working in a day care where I make about one-third the pay I should be making.  I know one day things will get better.  That I will get a job that pays me the salary I deserve.  That my dear, sweet, hard working husband will become employed again and our lives and finances will become much more stable.  b) Even then though, I'm afraid we are going to have so much credit card debt and ever looming student loan debt, that we will still be in pretty much the same rut.  I need to think positively and I am honestly not a pessimist....just a realist.  If you don't expect too much out of life, you can't get too disappointed.  c) because when and if we ever have the money for me to purse the beginnings of this dream, I might be so happy to be financially secure that I wind up spending the extra money I could use on this dream, on other things that we want and need and will now finally be able to afford.   

3) That I won't have the necessary time to put in to educate myself further on "food"

Reasons for this "uncertainty" : a) because I already feel like I never seem to have "enough time to do the things I wanna do once I find them" (to quote Jim Croce, "Time in a bottle") and there are SO many things that I love to do already and still want to do, that I don't know how I could ever make myself focus on just this one thing, even it is what I love the most.  b) if I decide to pursue this dream, what else is going to suffer by the wayside?  Will it be something far more important like friends and family and my teaching career, which will probably be still supporting us mainly.  I can't see myself ever pushing away people in my life in order to purse this "food star," or any dream...but sometimes it's a necessary evil if you are going to reach your goal 

c) I already have a lot on my plate these days with friends and family and all kinds of other things that fall on my shoulders, I just feel that at the end of the day after taking care of all that, I won't want to or care to go practice my julienne cuts and other knife skills or successful creations of gastriques.....I will mostly likely want to sit and do nothing and simply clear my head.  However, no one can reach their goals without getting off their butts and doing something.  Dreams are not handed to us on a nice silver platter....just watch any Disney film to see how true THAT is! Haha!

So what I have learned from all this is?  That I have nothing to fear but fear itself.  Thank you FDR.  I guess there is always something you can tell yourself as an excuse to avoid doing something you love.  In my case my fears of lack of money, time and support in pursuing a culinary path.  

Much love...