Accounting for Growth

I had the thought to do this blog post the other day, but I hesitated, because I could imagine how people would get it wrong and misapply it.  But, I do believe it is a worthy note to make, so I will do it with disclaimer.

I work in accounting.  I am not giving specific details about where or what I do and such.  But, I will say that I work in accounting and have for different companies and government and such.  The other day, I thought of something that I have seen there that applies to other situations, including healing and life.

At different times in different organizations, I have been faced with having to figure out something in a situation that I found myself that was new to me.  When I was originally given the task, it was SO hard to even comprehend.  I felt paralyzed by trying to wrap my brain around it, because it was just so much information to be hit with at once.  But, I pushed through and went on to the next challenge of learning and so on and so forth.

Time passed, and before I knew it I was facing the same situation, again.  However, this time, I had experience of understanding the situation and understanding of how best to manage my own response to the situation.  It was still a challenge, but it was much less of a challenge, and it took much less time to resolve it and was resolved in a much cleaner and more efficient manner.

So, why am I talking about accounting?  This same process is followed in anything that hits us in life.  At first, it is SO MUCH CHANGE and NEW and we feel brain and emotional strain just to try to keep a handle on it.  But, we push on... we learn,  we experience,  we figure out ways to process and to resolve it in a way that works.  And, there are so many of these types of experiences... not just romance but deaths, children issues, relocation, debt, and so much more. 

But, then, as we go through it, we pick up skills and knowledge.  Anyone that has dealt with any emotional issue knows that it never goes completely away, right away.  You will have echoes pop up along the way.  However, each time they pop up, it has less of an effect on you, because you have already learned how to think about it or feel about it, so it is easier to resolve and has less impact on your overall mood.

So, how am I afraid it will be misapplied?  I do not want you to feel that you should take the past and apply it, directly, to the future.  Do not take pains of the past or experiences and assume that future ones will be the same way and to respond to them in the same way.  No situation is completely the same, and what was wrong in one might be right in another context.  However, I DO believe that the process of SOLVING problems and processing things and maintaining emotional balance and confidence in your ability to thrive in the future IS something that it would be useful to remember and SOME things from your learning CAN help you guide your path more effectively.  Sometimes, it's not just things to avoid but the wisdom that you should say what you want and try more effectively.

I feel like I failed at making that disclaimer, but I do hope that you can understand the difference and apply the main point, correctly.  You might be feeling overwhelmed, right now.  Well, you have in the past in different situations that do not ruffle you, now.  You CAN and WILL get through this one, and life does get easier as you go along.  So, do not fear change.  Just bring with it the knowledge that will help you account for a much better and more peaceful journey, ahead. 

Light in Dark

I was sitting in my office, today, listening to people pack up their things on the day they were fired.  I have worked at the government, and like many thousands that was a doomed venture from the start, even if we had no way of knowing that upon taking the job... as everyone with less than a year of service was either fired or took a resignation deal like I took.  However, the experience dove tails into my recent thoughts of things that people need to remember in this time and about which i wanted to say.  So, I'll use it to illustrate some points.

So, back to my listening and observation of these individuals' final day.  I heard some with the most anger and most sad reactions being the same ones that over the last weeks was heard spouting the most unrealistic hopeful delusions.  I'm not anti hope.  I'm a hopeful person, but life has taught me to temper that with clear vision.  I've also been in relationships where I thought someone cared but was really just my own projection of what I desired to be true.  Like those let go at work, the truth DOES eventually make itself known.  You can either ignore the dark notes in the story and be side swiped, or you can recognize the uncomfortable truths and make proper decisions... which is why I'm not losing pay after today like them, but I'll have a smoother path to my next employment.  It is often the most deluded that ends up with the deepest pains.

Change is inevitable.  It doesn't mean a bad thing that something changed.  It means you have to adapt and adjust.  Life changes all the time, and those most likely to be happy are those able to be happy IN the middle of the change or the struggles.  If you are waiting for everything to be perfect or even peaceful around you, you miss out on a lot of good, and that good can help you have peace in other areas.  Like... my job is changing, the President is a dictator destroying the country, and ... yet... I'm living the happiest loving relationship of my life, right now.  That love gives me peace to deal with the rest.  So, look for the happy moments and happy futures to give you fuel for the other things in your life. 

Similarly, you have to realize that you're probably not going to get your ideal outcomes in all areas of your life.  Some may be or feel that good.  Cherish those.  However, my experience has been you often have to just do the best you can do.  And, the best you can do is... the best you can do.  Stop comparing it to your unrealistic outcome hopes.   Like... my taking the resignation offer wasn't a choice between resigning or a job.  If I didn't take it, I'd have been fired, today.  So, comparing it to a job that continues was NEVER in the cards, even if I didn't realize it upon taking the job.  

The best you can do is the best you can do.  So, stop lamenting that which was never going to happen and take pride in yourself that you made it through another day in the best possible way you knew to do it.  Your living the best outcome you can, if you choose wisely.  Look forward and look up.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Make it one worthy of your participation and end in the happiness that you can find along the journey.