Rememering Heather

Mr. Blackburn installed a portable staircase against a natural rock wall to ease our access to a lower section of the property and it works like a charm. The only problem is, he hasn’t attached it to the rock, yet. It wobbles a bit as you ascend and descend. We trust it though, because of how it’s situated (and we’ve used it enough to know it’s safe). At the top, there’s a lip, to make sure nothing slides off the front of the small platform (I guess), and a few times, as I’ve stepped from the ladder to the top of the bluff, my toe has caught the edge of it. With the whole ladder wobbling and my stumbling as I step off the thing, you can imagine I’ve had a heart-pounding experience, here and there. It is this final step that causes so many of us fear; afraid we can’t go the distance or can’t hold on, once we’ve begun to take action and to change. It’s one thing to “go on a diet,” but it’s another thing to live the rest of your life “on a diet.” We might get a jump start to strength by joining an exercise class but classes sometimes run their course, and sometimes instructors retire or move away. Sometimes, groups disband. Rarely, a pandemic shuts down the places you used to go… Then what? What will become of your changes, or your planned changes? Once you’ve gone this far, a bump in the road (or the ladder), won’t throw you all the way back to the bottom IF you truly experienced the first three steps in the change process: Awareness, Desire and Knowledge. We can call these steps precontemplation, contemplation and preparation (depends on who’s book you read). Either way, the last two steps are taking action and maintaining or persevering. Self-evaluating is part of the maintenance step and helps you measure your successes. If you stumble at this last step (perseverance), see it for what it is; very normal. Most people will stumble (or give up), at the last step if they don’t really know WHY they wanted to change in the first place. Get back to your WHY. Make sure you can revisit that reason easily. When the reason for your effort to change is powerful, you will summon the courage to start again. Every time you start again, you are taking one more step in a positive direction; you are changing. This is maintenance. This is perseverance. This is success. Take credit for your climb. See yourself changing direction. See yourself slowly, by small degrees, moving in a new and healthier path; climbing a new, sometimes shaky staircase. Be well.