She told me her life was out of control; she was on call 24/7 for a job that she was stressed over, nothing was going right. I was punching pillows! Asking myself, what’s wrong with me? Why is everyone else doing better than me ? I listened. I thought about intervening— nothing’s wrong with you; don’t compare yourself .. . but I remembered: Just listen. Let her talk. So I did.
Eventually, she calmed down and we were able to continue our conversation. When she said she was punching pillows that title registered in my head. The frustration was clear; she was spinning and off-track. I thought of how easy it is to get off track, and remembered so many of my mentors talking about this—books like “The Slight Edge,” and quotes from my favorite, Jim Rohn: “You cannot change your destination overnight. You can change your direction.” One small step, Jim Rohn says, one apple. An apple a day can lead to a habit, to consistency, to self-esteem . . . amazing, really. Those tiny things that we do everyday, consistently, that lead to greatness, to change.
Punching pillows may burn off some steam and frustration, but will it get us further down the road to our goals, to the life we want to live? I, for one, tend to look too far ahead; I forget all the little steps that make up the journey; I forget to look at what I’m doing right and see that all those rights can equal the life of my dreams. One apple. One step. One book. One decision. My decision: To be a Blue Diamond Author with writing school in Maui and a horse rescue in Wyoming. What’s my next step? Who will come along with me? Dream Big and let’s go!
The post Punching Pillows first appeared on Carrie Pepper.