I was chatting with a friend the other day who was venting to me about her relationship. Suddenly, she caught herself. “I’m sorry, girl. I shouldn’t be complaining. I mean, at least he isn’t cheating on me.”
See…what we’re not going to do is get caught up in what I like to call the “At Least These.”
You know what that is, right?
When we start to settle for our own unhappiness because things *could* be worse.
At least they aren’t cheating.
At least I have a roof over my head.
It’s not much, but at least we have food on the table and clothes on our back.
At least I have a job.
All the while, ignoring that you are miserable, unhappy, at your wit’s end.
You continually operate in a state of anxiety and become paralyzed; unable to make the necessary moves to fix it.
While it may be true that in most cases, there is always someone or something that’s not as well off as we are, (we do live in America), that does not translate to settling for less.
Wanting better does not mean we lack gratitude. There is space for both.
It is both possible to have gratitude for what you have and desire things to be better and different.
That is the sacred space where hope, dreams and achievement lives.
So as you navigate this new month, be conscious of falling into the trap of “At Least These.”
What are the things that you have talked yourself out of doing or wanting because things weren’t at absolute rock bottom?
Pull those ideas and goals out from wherever you hid them and into the sunlight.
We’re going after them.
No guilt or comparison allowed.
What’s stopping you from living an adventurous, joy-filled life?
— N