Step by Step

Our youngest daughter is in 1st grade and has been working on "First, Then, Next, Last" in school.  We like to quiz each other about how to do things around the house just to see how well she has caught on to the concept!

What I have learned is that it is not my daughter who needs help with this concept-but it's actually me who has no idea what to do first, then, next, and last in the correct order.

I am not alone! I see this all the time in the lives of my friends.

Maybe that is why I feel so normal!?

While it is true, that we can't predict every thing that will happen to us-we can make sure we have a pretty decent plan in place to make sure we are at least moving in the right direction.

I have been counting the chickens before they hatch for years!  I blame it on my emotional decision making and capacity to day dream.

Our generation is known for expecting things to happen out of order.

I have seen friends get married to the first person that came along in fear that maybe this would be their only opportunity!  I have seen friends purchase houses without jobs, move across the country hoping for job opportunities once they arrive.

I have seen (myself included) parents have children before they were ready, before they were out of school, or had a career, or any idea where they could end up in a few years.

 Many of our friends still live with their parents and are still asking their parents to bail them out financially when they can't pay their bills each month.

We buy concert tickets, go on vacations, wear stylish clothing, live in houses we can't afford and use the latest Apple product to hit the market-but when it comes to paying our rent, we fall short.

We think that we graduate from college and should be working in our dream job making AT LEAST the same salaries as our parents right away!

We want to skip everything in the middle!  We don't believe in climbing the ladder of success. We want the perfect job NOW.

The truth is.. the life's biggest lessons live inside the middle-in the climbing!  It's the hardest work...but the wisdom we gain is priceless.

Looking back, I see that now.

We are so wrapped up in what is next that we pay no attention to what is now.

The life lessons we want to skip over so that we can be like whoever it is we are comparing ourselves to...is so unhealthy and yet so normal!

We have to break this cycle...NOW!

There are so many chapters in our stories and there are reasons we are NOT supposed to skip ahead!

There is power in living things out in the right order.

Evaluate where you are now and ask yourself where you want to be in 5 years.

What are the next steps to get there? 

First...then.....next.... and last.