Life Lesson 02: Anchor Yourself

Throughout your life, you will find yourself amidst many distractions – wealth, social media, food, drink, sports, art, career, travel – and all of these will demand your attention.  These are fine in moderation, but these material items cannot, and should not, be your anchor.  Being superficial items, the support from these are shallow and will not support you through any sort of trial.  It may be true that these can provide short-term motivation to achieve truly amazing goals.  But for happiness and success to follow you throughout life, you need a consistent and constant why that reverberates across your life.  And to me, love needs to be that anchor that grounds your endeavors.  Love has been and continues to be my beacon that guides my decisions and gives you your why. 

From the beginning of our lives, love surrounds us.  This love is found in our latching onto our families as we gain our initial identities from those around us – that family nucleus becomes our first anchor and guides our decision process.  This family core is different for all of us.  For me it was my mom, my sister, my grandparents, and my uncle who were my first beacons throughout those formative years as I became a man.  My decisions were made always with them in mind, whether consciously or not, as I strove to always make them happy.  But as you grow, life changes and you begin to forge your own path becoming your own individual.  And as you become your own person, your support system has to change to meet your new situation.  You must gain an anchor through choice, not circumstance. 

In continuing my growth in life experience, my thought process has evolved from striving with each choice to please my mom and grandparents as a child to now being that stabilizing force for my wife and kids.  This didn’t happen overnight, but it was imperative to make that transition from supported to supporter.  To grow as individuals, we must make that leap.  It’s not that we move on from those who supported us before, but we’re able to begin to express that love differently some of what they provided over all those years. 

I’d be remiss if I did not bring up my faith and God’s love as integral parts of this.  I know that nothing is possible without God’s love.  For me, God’s love is the trustful and accurate GPS system letting me know where and when to drop anchor; however, it is up to me to listen and act.

And yes, I know the concept of beacons and anchors are contradictory, as one guides you forward while the other holds you in place.  And yet, isn’t that a fitting vision of love?  A reason go out and achieve great things; and yet, simultaneously, also a reason to be calm and resolutely focused on your why.  It becomes both the motivation and the context; the how and the why.

So go out there and find love, find your beacon to guide you.

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