While I’ve been making huge improvements in almost every area of my life, I feel that lately I’m doing a large amount of waiting:

Waiting for the mortgage commitment for the buyers of my condo. The big day should be Thursday–so close!

Waiting to move into my new place. August first, where are you?

Waiting to go on my annual girls’ trip with my best friends. Two days away–Colorado, here we come!

And, finally….waiting to go on the trip of my dreams…  This one is a whopper and will be written about as soon as that mortgage commitment is in place. Around the world, here I come!

The Art of Patience

With all of these things up in the air, the amount of anxiety I’m battling has been pretty intense. Fortunately, I seem to be navigating all of these changes and challenges with dignity and grace because inherently, I’m a positive, patient person. The key to maintaining my composure has been to remind myself that I can’t control any of these external factors–I can only control how I respond to them and what I do as a result of those various responses.

And so I wait. Patiently. Even if it is inconvenient, painful, and cause for a serious lack of sleep–and writer’s block….ugh. I can’t shake the feeling that a huge turning point for my life is right around the corner, so I continue to move forward with what I can and sit back and try to enjoy the ride for the things that will take more time to sort out.

The Art of Positive Thinking

As I wait and plan and process, I’m also realizing that I can use this time to further hone my ability to recognize the learning opportunities each new challenge presents. Rather than focus on what has been lost or what is not there, I’m choosing to focus on what is being gained and all of the amazing things that are yet to come as a result of my growth and ability to make it to the other side of a difficult time.

If you’re going through a hard time of your own, I highly recommend seeking out the positive. In an effort to not only kick-start this focus but to maintain it, I’ve been writing daily in a gratitude journal, as well as continuing with my 40 day mission of Random Acts of Kindness, which I write about on my new blog, Change Your Life in 40 Days.

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I’ve already built upon my strong, resilient core in ways I never thought possible–all because of my willingness to fight to maintain a sunny disposition no matter what comes my way. Far more than making lemonade with these lemons, I’m teaching others to make their own lemonade.

Giving Myself some Breathing Room

I’ll need to write about this some more, but my finances are a bit of a mess–on purpose. I’m not going into debt or touching a penny of savings, but I have been allowing myself to spend a bit more for conveniences and work a bit less as I concentrate on my well-being instead of my typical break-neck work pace.

I know that I can’t do it all, and I need to stay as balanced as possible to ensure I’m moving forward in a healthy, positive way. Yes, it’s quite unnerving to track my uptick in spending and I do want to freak out a bit about work I’ve been passing up. But I know that I can jump into high gear as soon as the timing makes sense–I can get back to where I was before and beyond.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, life dictates a need to slow down, regroup, and take care of yourself.

If I were to resist this necessary phase of recovery, I would be doing myself a huge disservice because I’d be plowing forward instead of fully processing what’s happening. I made that mistake once and it cost me dearly, so I’m doing everything I can to ensure I’ll never make it again. At the end of the day, it’s more like Viva la Balance and to hell with all the noise–at least temporarily.

What’s going on in your life?