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Picking the best apple in the lot.

Sifting through the bundles of apples clinging to each branch. Walking up and down and back again just to find the perfect collection of apples to bring home. One big, one small, one red and ripe, others still green or what about a yellow one. Mac, Cortland, pink lady, granny smith and gold crisp.

The bag is already full!

Heavy and cumbersome. Yet half the field as not been walked through all options are not seen.

You could restart or pile it higher.

Be happy with the apples you have.

Remember the fact you get to pick apples in the first and have the time to look around half the field.

There is plentiful opportunity.

And I can’t get off.

Just when you think it’s over, you turn around that bend and up to a higher peak than before. Now we’re doing full loops that connect to a corkscrew. Back to baseline to a tunnel and a another turn around.

My point is that you don’t know what can happen, will happen or when.

So why worry about it.

Well of course that’s much easier said than done. Especially when the ride is as unpredictable as it could ever be, ups or down, side to side and underground are all options. I do worry about the next turn, or excited for it, or dreading it.

It only drags you down, energy is wasted and time is still ticking by.

Make it easy to decide in the moment and stick to it.

There is not a righter answer to the problem nor a best solution, only what had occurred.

You made the best of it and reacted.

Being on the roller coaster at first is fun, but I want the stability of the ground.

When the ground isn’t an option, I react and move on.

Nothing more to be done but do.

Still, I can’t wait for the sweet safe ground to pop up one day.

I know it will eventually, but till then I shall take each turn, up or down head on with a decisive action in the moment.

Being tossed into mix of it all, seems impossible to hold on to anything. Difficult to gain any ground or take a step in any direction at all. Is it better to just remain exactly where you are or fight an uphill battle?

I don’t know the answer for your situation.

I know what ground I stand on and what’s worth fighting for.

When I had nothing, I had everything to gain. When I have everything to gain, it’s easy to progress from nothing.

I have so much to fight for, and its only fuel to keep going and pressing on into the storm.

To remain calm is key, to notice your surroundings and make the right decisions. If I fail to do this, I could lose my footing in the storm. Making it hard to make my next step onwards.

I do need rest. Remind yourself to slow down to be able to keep on stepping along. It can be easy to exhaust oneself in the process of making progress.

Rest is required to progress.

Calmness is required to make the right decisions.

Motivation comes from within.

Nobody can control the storm, but you can control the actions you take.

I choose to keep pressing on into the storm.

Theres a certain level of success that I expect. I’m not sure, how to get it, I don’t know how high I want the bar yet.

I’m perfectly fine with this uncertainty.

It gives me freedom to explore all available avenues; there isn’t a certain standard already set before me. I have full confidence and control over which path I take.

For process of elimination to find out what is best or just because I felt like trying it, I just know what ever I’m doing I will be great at it.

I do take pride in my work; it’s why I work so hard, not to impress others but to see what I’m fully capable of doing. I can’t list all the things that I’m great at yet, cause it’s still in progress and might always be in progress.

I want to try it all, but all I’m ever told is to specialize in one skill and get great at it.

I can’t follow through with that thought, it doesn’t work for me. I’m more than just one skill, and I don’t know why I would limit myself like that.

I simply will ignore that information because it’s not who I am.

Sure, I can and will be great at whatever I do.

But it’s not just going to be one thing, I can’t picture that.

Maybe it brings more uncertainty to my future and I’m okay with that.

I need that opportunity of uncertainty to evolve.

They are everywhere around you, and the objective is to not break even one. It’s an impossible goal.

Step back, one broken, forward same result, side to side and now you have two broken. Looking at the situation, it seems pretty dire and grim.

Also, add one more rule, you have to take a step and it’s your responsibility to decide. When and where is completely up to you.

There are options even if it doesn’t seem like there are many good ones.

Step lightly, nobody said anything about putting all your weight on the eggshells, jump on that imaginary furniture as your safe spot.

Or the more obvious answer, just pile up the shells and start stepping freely.

Observe, be patient, take responsibility, make a plan and execute the plan.

You can make a million and one excuses, as for reasons why you can’t succeed.

You could also spend that time on your plan toward small achievable and measurable goals towards a successful outcome.

The water is teeming at the edge of the steel and just about to boil over the rim. There is nothing to be done. The heat needs to be turned up, but it’s on its last leg. Transfer the water to a bigger pot and let the fire roar under the steel bottom. The buffer is there but still not enough to be left unattended. The pressure is mounting but it’s exciting to watch. To be in the moment and you realize this is the hard part, a balancing game of not enough or way too much.

Close the lid build up the pressure and steam. The water roars with excitement under the stress of the burners. Full throttle ahead to be just in time or was it always in the right time? The water bubbles under great stress, filling the largest pot you can find, the pressure too much and needing a release and point of exit. You take it off and now it’s too cold and far too little water.

I should stop adjusting everything, or should I start anew. New recipe to fit the pot, all the water and heat you could need. Maybe if you had everything to begin with it would be easy. Of course it would, but you wouldn’t have learned to adjust.

Adjust the heat, adjust the recipe, find a new recipe because that didn’t work, maybe the new recipe isn’t any better than the old and you still haven’t gotten it right yet.

The little things are adding up, you don’t need a recipe for success, you made your own. The heat is just at six and a quarter, the water is a little over a half gallon to fill the pot and not bubble over under a roaring fire. And you put the lid on after ten minutes and turn the heat off not long after.

The point is you don’t need a recipe book for everything; just do it wrong a whole lot and keeping being a little less wrong than last time.

Only then you can leave it unattended.

The part that nobody likes to talk about, the long hours leading to an “overnight success”.

Some talk about the enjoyment of the process, others despise the process. I Love the process.

The best part isn’t the end goal. If it was everyone would try to shortcut their way to the finish line. I’m sure many have tried this path, and it didn’t enjoy it because something was missing. The part that didn’t require all the fame, money or end quota to feel great and accomplished.

The process itself.

The self-realization that occurs that you aren’t the best at what you do but get obsessed with small improvements every day. That eventually get you there.

Being able to make changes, think of new ways to improve whatever you’re doing and it’s all your choice. All your control.

You can be happy in the process of being mediocre at something. The process isn’t exclusive to the extremes of life. Being the greatest is okay if that’s what you truly desire but just being the best doesn’t bring happiness.

Just be happy with who you are, and everything gets a whole lot easier.

Pressure to success is less, pressure to be the best in the world is gone, pressure to be heard by everyone is over. Care about what really makes you happy and enjoyment of the little things.

The process gives what you let it.

So, let it.

And get comfortable doing it.

Start small, step just outside your comfort zone. It could be ten percent harder than usual lifting heavier at the gym, putting yourself in social situations more, being more vulnerable with friends and family or trying creative outlet.

Start a conversation with anyone, publish a post on social media, try a new exercise, new food or study a topic that makes you uncomfortable. These events of micro bravery throughout days, weeks, months and years, stacks up confidence.

Make a list of things that you avoid intentionally, ask what I avoid, why and what’s the smallest step towards it.

Identity expands through repeated behaviors.

“I’m someone who does hard things”, “I can handle uncertainty”, ” I love discomfort and it makes me feel alive”. I am more.

Discomfort forces an action and avoids rumination on the what If’s. Taking the what If’s off the mind only leads to more energy and life.

Master seeking discomfort.

It could be just what you need. Declutter all the stuff that is taking up the space for imagination.

Artists start with a blank canvas free of all the other stuff that can get in the way. Free to create as they see fit.

Find your blank space and if you don’t have any, make room.

Erasing or removing the old stuff to help make room for new creativity to take hold and to paint free of limitations.

Make your blank space a place to explore and create.

Best place to look for something different is outside the box of restrictions that have been set for you.

Not happy with your current situation, the answer is just outside the box. Not doing what you love, it’s outside the box. Not living every day to fullest, it’s outside the box. It’s all outside the box, except your norm.

It’s more about the restriction put on to your daily life. Same routines can either build you up or keep you in a cage that is your worst nightmare.

Thinking outside the box is just the start.

Actually, doing the stuff outside your comfort zone is the leap of faith that must be taken blindly.

But the only way to know is by jumping and jumping as far as you can.

Be outside the box and experience something new.

The worst that can happen is not liking it and getting back into your box again.

The best that can happen is the best life you can think of.

Take the leap outside the box.