I had to use the old Marcia Brady line on Jodi last week: “Something suddenly came up…”, making it so that I couldn’t blog.  Really, several somethings have come up recently.  First, I’m in the middle of a move to a new residence—final walkthroughs, punchlists, a closing date that keeps changing.  It’s distracting, so say the least, but certainly exciting.  But, also, things have cranked up for me professionally.  Opportunities have been coming at me right and left—a good thing for sure!  But it’s forced me, in the midst of a very busy time in my personal life, to also have what is called in the South a “Come to Jesus” meeting (or two or three…) about what I want and what I can handle right now.  It’s a heck of a thing to be in position to pick and choose from wonderful opportunities.  Here are some things I’ve learned about myself in the process so far, several of which I didn’t realize until now:

1. If I even just have a thought, such as “I really miss using [x-skill]…”, an opportunity to do exactly whatever [x-skill] is will turn up.  Most likely out of nowhere.
2. I’m interested in just about everything.  A good thing and a bad thing during decision time.
3. Money is never THE driving factor, but it is A driving factor.  (Could be because 3 days from now I will own 2 homes.  haha)  That can be hard to admit when you’re a giver by nature.
4. I absolutely love what I do and want to be better at it.  Any new opportunity I accept must fit in with, and preferably enhance, what I currently spend the majority of my time doing versus encroach on it.
5. I’m pretty much at-capacity with my time now, so the One Woman Show needs to end its run.  I need help if I’m going to take on more.
6. Turns out I (thankfully) have enough integrity that, when offered something I really wanted to do, I had to say, “No, not right now at least”.  I owe it to some other irons I have in the fire to see if they heat up or cool off before I open door that would be hard to close, thereby potentially negatively affecting another professional or entity.  That was hard, but important.
7. I’m not good at snap decisions and I must agonize and talk over something with a minimum of 4 other people before I render a final verdict.  This annoys me about myself to no end, but I am a slave to this process.  It’s usually worth it, but, truth be told, quick decisiveness is a quality I find attractive in others.  Mostly because I have it in limited quantities and very few scenarios.

Why am I sharing this?  Because through opportunity knocking so much lately, I’ve been provided yet another opportunity to learn things about myself, and I’ve had what I’ve previously said and thought that I want out of life and career challenged enough to examine if that is still my truth.  I think these moments in time are very important gifts we get handed for our benefit and growth.

Since this is a blog largely themed with fitness and nutrition topics, we could apply that by highlighting the importance of stepping back and asking, “Does this style of eating and training work for me at this current time?  Am I busier/less busy?  Am I in need of different nutrients for the current state of my physiology?  Is it time to ramp up/back down training?”  We can examine ALL areas of life this way—relationships, jobs, the gamut.  As Dr. Phil often says, “How is that working for you?” when forcing a client to take a good hard look at their current strategies and paradigms.  No matter how the “head to the mountain” moment comes, nudging (shoving) us toward a figurative cave for contemplation on such matters, it’s always valuable.  Always.  And almost always uncomfortable to boot.  But if you train, you’re probably used to the whole concept of momentary discomfort that leads to greater things later on, right?

I’m still treading around in my current sea of opportunity.  With the impending move, the work catch up that will follow, plus a weeklong visit from my mom, I’ll be doing that for a little while longer as I check on those fire-irons, throw some proverbial poop against walls to see what sticks and what falls, and continue to visit the mountain cave through prayer and introspection.  But while things work themselves out, I’ll be sure to make time to paddle around in that sea, savoring the fact that I may very well be one of the most blessed people on the planet.

Anyone else find themselves in this place now or ever?   Share as you see fit.