Where are you?

The first step to change is to know where you are. And the first step to knowing where you are, is to at least have the desire to know. Sometimes we think we know where we are, based on habits and patterns, but as we can see by how effective that reminder note is, you know, the one that's been on the door or the mirror for so long that it just blends in with the furniture, that we may have started to blend in with our own furniture. Just when we thought we were fluid and easy, we go to a massage person and find knots that we've lived with for so long, we forgot we had them. Like cleaning out the garage or the basement. We first need the desire to do it, then the desire to deal with what we find.

So once we have embraced that we may not actually know where we are, and we start to find out, then we can start to make choices about where we want to go, and what the most effective and attainable next step might be. It would be hard to win an Oscar for Best Actress in a feature film if I've never even been in a film. I'm not saying that the Universe couldn't pull this off, but from my small, physical point of view and physical limitations, doubtful.

Regardless, one of the most powerful agents of change is to know and embrace fully where we are. That can be challenging when we don't like where we are. It may be uncomfortable, painful, even embarrassing, but so what? It is the step that is going to make all the next steps that much more effective and efficient, ultimately leading us from the pain of point A to the less pain of point B eventually to the freedom of point whatever letter or number it might be on the map of your life.