“Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” ~ James 1:4
I just finished another grueling semester in route to becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Being a student or a novice in any situation is a very frustrating interim experience. There is a learning curve where you’re always behind the ball. It’s a constant feeling of inadequacy and falling short. Growth is never easy in the pursuit of big goals. There is so much struggle to be surmounted between who you are and who you are striving to become.
“Fall in love with the process of becoming the very best version of yourself” ~ Unknown
To live a happy and fulfilled life, you need to have dreams greater than yourself, and the resolve to grow into them. If you’ve chosen a worthy goal, one far beyond your current capabilities, you should feel small in comparison to the magnitude of it. A worthy goal should scare you and make you contend with your self doubts. It will require you to become more than you are. Life is about rising to the next level. Go after your goals with relentless vigor, fire, and fight. But don’t overlook the journey. The journey is preparing you for the obtainment of your goals. Be mutable. Be transformed. Evolve. Enjoy the process of becoming. Becoming done and undone, vulnerable, inadequate, uncomfortable, and outmatched… and eventually victorious, and anew.
“For everything there is a season.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1
It’s important to acknowledge and honor the season you are in, and give yourself the patience to be present in it. Every phase of growth has its purpose. Replanting a seedling is already a traumatic and uncomfortable experience for it. But done in the wrong season could be fatal. However, done in the right season, the same seedling could be fruitful for years to come. Timing is not to be underestimated. Allow your present season to teach and mold and shape you. To make you worthy of your goals. To establish you wholly and completely. To create a solid foundation that is able to withstand adversity and promote future growth.
“Something will grow from all you’ve been going through. And it will be you.” ~ Unknown
Life is a grand experiment of learning, and growing, becoming, and evolving. Respect the process. Appreciate the struggle. Seasons are as fleeting as they are unrepeatable. Change is the only inevitable and constant of life. Nothing will remain the same. It’s important to accept that notion. “Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself…because you must.”~Bukowski. Give yourself grace in your transitional phases. Find solace in the ‘in between’ and ‘not quite yet’. Do the best you can. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt. The next season awaits. And we will meet it with all of the lessons and graces we cultivate today.
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