Building Your Life Dock

Ever wonder why the good things in life seem to just slip out of your fingers when they do come your way? This is why: Because there’s no dock for that “ship” you’ve been waiting on, and it just can’t stay around without a safe harbor.

We all want our ship to come in (pardon the analogy). We’ve been taught since babies that the great Cruise Ship of Life will one day sail up and we’ll get on it and have a wonderful happy life.

Is that what YOU are waiting on? For your great life to fall out of the sky - oops wrong analogy -- err, *sail* up to your dock?

Good things WILL come your way. I’m betting they already have.

But here’s the kicker -- in order to receive them, in order to hold on to them, in order to use them in a way that’s beneficial and helpful to you, you must first spend some time building the dock, or the foundation, for that life.

The foundation is what holds up your life. Without it, or with a weak foundation, things will always be rocky and susceptible to problems.

No matter how great the guy/girl, if you’re not on solid ground, s/he’ll drift away.

No matter how great the job, if you’re not in a good place, it will go by the wayside.

No matter how wonderful the opportunity, if you don’t have some backup to help you out, you may lose it.

So how do you shore up a shaky foundation? There are many different parts to a strong foundation, like boundaries, standards, needs, integrity, values, reserves, priorities.

But here’s the best way to start: Eliminate things you are putting up with by taking specific, focused action to either remove them, delegate to someone else, or find another way to handle them. Make sure you approach it from your own point of view NOT “He needs to (fillintheblank).”

And yes, I can hear you all saying, “But I want to ADD a relationship, or ADD a career, or ADD some focus to my life to make it better”.

So why do I suggest you start by deleting things?

Because small things that you are putting up with in your life may seem insignificant, yet when taken all together they’re an enormous energy drain, an enormous focus drain. (think of one mosquito bite vs. a hundred mosquito bites!)

Assuming you even had enough left-over energy and focus to add something to your life in the first place, no matter what wonderful things you put into your life – relationships, money, career -- as long as these leaks are there, all the good things will leak right back out.

YIKES! Yes, I know.

The message is clear. A firm foundation is more than just a “nice thing to have” -- it’s essential to a happier, healthy, easier, better life. There are no shortcuts. If you try to shortcut life, you’ll always end up with the short end of the stick.
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Kathy Gates is a Professional Life Coach in Scottsdale AZ. If you liked this article, you’ll love her 7 Week Success Program (www.reallifecoach.com/success). Follow your heart, and learn more at Real Life Coach, www.reallifecoach.com, Sign up for the newsletter while you’re there!