STEPPING OVER THE LINE
By Shirley Pierce

When I was young, I went to a Catholic school. We wore crisp uniforms with knee socks that remained rigidly in place as if they, too, feared eternal damnation. Every morning the nuns would order us to walk beside a long gray line as we shuffled our way into class. To step on or over the line without permission was nothing less than a mortal sin. Year in and year out, I walked that line until it became a way of life. It was only after years of learning to love myself that I was able to leave that line in the past where it belonged.

But I learned a very important lesson recently when a friend of mine suddenly decided to get married and put a wedding together in five short days. Gone was the time-honored tradition of taking months to plan every minute detail of that all-important day. Gone was organization of any kind. She didn’t “walk the line”. She took control. She did it her way and it was a beautiful ceremony.

What was the lesson? If there’s something you want to do, do it. Don’t wait for someone to tell you where the line is and how to walk it. Don’t ask for permission to achieve your heart’s desire. Don’t limit yourself with the “impossibles”, “too hards” or the “never been done befores”. Just get off the couch and do it.

And if you’re going to go for something, do it with all your heart. The worst thing you can do in life is just stick your toe in the water of your dream and then back out because it’s too cold. A dream lost plants the seeds of bitterness. Bitterness can devour your soul.

Don’t let that happen to you. Set yourself a realistic goal – whether it’s a degree, a marathon, a clean closet, a business, a new house, a child or even if it’s to leave an abusive relationship. Go for it.

When you do it, do it like my friend, the whirlwind bride. Once she focused on the important things and surrounded herself with loving and supportive people, miracles seemed to happen. Food, decorations, even the minister came to her. Something magical happens when you set your mind on a goal. It’s as if the very air around you is energized and things begin to happen that will help you along the way.

To get yourself on the road to creating your own happiness, start with the following steps.

1) Define Your Goal
2) Visualize It
3) Plot Your Course In Easy Bite Sized Pieces
4) Reach Out And Get Help
5) Kick Negative Thoughts And People To The Curb
6) And Finally … Go For It

That’s all you have to do. You don’t have to live in fear anymore. If you go after what you want, you won’t receive demerits or go to hell. You will reap the rewards of your dreams.

As we all know, no one’s success is ever guaranteed. We need only to look at Ben and J-Lo’s last movie to see that. But if you go after your goal with the right attitude, you can always win in the end. You may learn some information or a skill that you can use in another endeavor. You will most certainly learn something about yourself. Learning is progress. Progress is growth. And growth is success in anybody’s book.

At the very least, you will be empowered by your journey. This power becomes a part of you and once you possess it, you will never walk someone else’s line again.

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