It takes a lot of heart to consistently work on our passion projects.  I believe the real work is all about bringing our big ideas from talk to walk which is a really big step.  Plus, we have to constantly believe that we can do it and reassure ourselves daily that living our dreams are well worth it.

Embracing Change

Here’s the thing…The moment we decided to do the work, we signed up for change.  There’s no way we can get from here to our places called ‘there’ without it.  I’m convinced that it’s better to lean into change to get through it rather than fight it.

Sometimes I feel like I’m carrying change around like a back pack which really feel super heavy midway.  Becoming cybersecurity certified is one of my passion projects.  I’m halfway there.  I have a fulltime job and am in training for not 1 but 2 cyber security certifications.  It’s pretty intense.  I study after work which makes for a very long day.  Just when I think I can’t do anymore, quizzes and practice tests fly onto my calendar putting demands on me that I don’t think I can deliver.  I come to realize that there are times I feel resourceFul and there are times when I feel flat out feel resourceLess.   Times like these have become idea destination spots for me to switch, pivot or shift to stay on track.

Learning to Relax and Evolve

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the butterfly.  The thing that amazes me is that it starts off as this caterpillar that anonymously crawls around doing caterpillar stuff all day.  Then one day it spins itself into a cocoon and stays there until it’s finished becoming a butterfly.  The cocoon is where the real transformative behind the scenes work gets done.

Cocoon Times

So many people put in massive amounts of work behind the scenes.  Though it feels mundane from day to day, the preparation and readiness that shakes out of consistency is quite artistic.  Our greatest work emerges from consistently doing the right thing at the right time.

When the time was right the butterfly came out of the cocoon and spread its wings to fly.  It would be a good dramatic writing to show the butterfly bursting out of its cocoon in full flight like a champion.  But I’m not so sure it happens this way.  Emerging from the cocoon may have its own set of steps that doesn’t come so easy for the butterfly.  Think about it.  This cocoon has to be built tough enough to groom and hold this butterfly, but breakable enough for it to get out.  The moment it captures the audacity to leave it struggles its way through the walls of the cocoon until it eventually breaks free.  The struggle is beneficial.  It helps strengthen the butterfly’s wings to fly.

Midway

For those of us who are smack-dab in the middle of our passion projects, we come too far to give up or go back to who we were before.  Let’s remain in our places of development – The places that occur behind the curtain that shape and prepare us to evolve.

Let’s remember our why and keep moving forward.  It takes a faithful and determined mind to ride in the pocket of consistency until we reach our goals.  But it’s exactly what we have to do.  Let’s dig deep, be as great as possible and treat ourselves gentle along the way.