From Point A to Point B

If someone called you and asked that you bring them some soup what would you do?  Keeping our fingers crossed that you considered this person to be a friend you’d hop right into action, I’m assuming.  If you’re fresh out of ingredients as well as cans of Campbell’s and Progresso you’d drive to your nearest grocer to grab a can or two.  Without hesitation. Without question.  And no one would think you crazy or radical for doing so.  Soup is needed and you took the necessary steps to get some.  Simple as that.  Done and done.

 

But what if the need was something a tad greater than soup?  Let’s say your child has to complete a science fair project and he/she doesn’t have so much as a strip of construction paper.  My guess is you’d find your way to a craft store or at least the arts and crafts section at Target to gather the items needed to complete this project.  It just makes sense.  Though the trip may get delayed a day or two the task would still get done.  It’s clear your child will be unable to complete a satisfactory project without the proper tools.  Done and done.

 

Let’s go one step further.  You receive a wedding invitation from an out of town friend.  He/she is a close friend and this is a wedding you wouldn’t miss for the world.  You check your calendar and you don’t have any conflicts.  What’s your next move?  Well it’s not even something you need to ponder.  Your next move is researching flight and hotel info so that you can guarantee yourself the best possible rates.  Once you’ve gathered all the data you need, you book your trip.  Done and done.

 

There it is.  I’ve just given you three very realistic examples of solutions being applied to needs that have arisen.  And the solutions were easy.  None of them required a lot of thought.  Perhaps a little planning was involved but in each case the path from Point A to Point B was very clear. 

 

(A) Need soup.  >>>  (B) Go to grocery store.

(A) Need project supplies.  >>>  (B) Go to craft store.

(A) Need to attend out of town wedding.  >>>  (B) Book a flight.

 

Once the A’s were given to us, it was very easy to figure out what the B’s would be.  Very easy.  Yet so many will not apply this simplistic logic to their personal dreams and goals.  Instead they speak about the A’s as if they are complete mysteries that are never to be solved.

 

(A) I’ve always wanted to play the piano.

(A) I wish I knew how to cook.

(A) I want to learn a second language.

 

If these were the Point A’s that you were presented with, best I can tell the Point B’s seem rather simple to me:

 

(B) Take a piano lesson.

(B) Buy a cookbook and begin watching a cooking show or two.

(B) Sign up for a class at your local community college or enlist the aid of a friend that’s already fluent.

 

Those paths seem so clear, so easy, but so many will sit twiddling their thumbs for years muttering the exact same A’s over and over again.  Sounding quite silly if you ask me.  I mean, even if your need was to solve a Rubik’s Cube that’s even doable.  It’s doable and there is a clear path to the Point B – if you really want to get there.  And I think that’s the bigger question, and it’s probably the only question you should be asking yourself if you find yourself becoming a broken record of Point A’s.  Do you really want to learn the piano?  Are you really interested in learning how to cook?  How important is it that you learn a second language?  Do you really want to learn to paint?  Become a published author?  Live abroad?  Learn to salsa?  Become a pediatrician?  Volunteer?  How important are these things?  Are you serious about any one of them?  Because if you are, you can’t honestly tell me that you’re truly that puzzled on how to get from your Point A to the Point B you so desire.  It’s as easy as going to the market for a can of chicken noodle soup.  It really is just that simple.  But for some reason you’ve introduced difficulty where there needn’t be any present.  Why is that?  Do you fear you won’t be any good?  Or are you still kidding yourself that you’re waiting for the right time?  Please tell me you’re not still playing that game.  I thought you knew…  The time is never right and we’ve never saved up enough money.  There, I said it.  Never.  So if this is something that’s even slightly important to you, quit talking about it, and do something about it.  Otherwise you’ll be sitting on Point A for a lifetime missing out on all the fun to be had over on Point B.  You can do better.

 

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

 

photo:  http://www.winpossible.com/App_Themes/default/Images/Amsco_Images/linsegfig.JPG