Carve Out Your Duck: A Lesson in Goal Achievement
Updated: Apr 14, 2022
Don't get thrown off by the title, this is not a post about something sick or inappropriate toward ducks.
It’s something I thought about the other day (in 2010) while I was having a conversation with someone that was just starting to blog as well.
They were talking about their confusion about which direction to take with their blog, what to write about, if they should cover more than one subject or not.
All valid questions and concerns especially for someone who is starting out and finding their way. This made me think about the crossroads I was approaching at the time. I was right in the middle of the trying to make major changes to my life and debating which ones to do and whether I even should or not.
So right then I had a picture in my mind of a log cabin out in the woods with a person sitting on the porch with a piece of wood. I saw the person taking the piece of wood (a plain, round tree branch) and carving it out into a beautiful wooden duck.
I would have never thought that something so detailed would come from a plain piece of wood.
So how does this person carve out a beautiful object from a plain ol' log?
Well, there has to be a level of focus, determination, skill, patience (a lot) and the most important of all, I think that the person actually sits there and get to work on it!
Little by little the piece of wood gets closer and closer to what the end result will be.
This is very similar to any of us who are beginning on the journey to living more purposeful, fulfilled lives.
So here are a few tips we can take from our friend the wood carver!
Start carving! You have to start in order to even get a feel for things. Start hacking at the piece of wood and sooner or later it WILL begin to take shape.
Use your skills (or passion) to begin directing your life in the direction you want it to go.
What is most important to you? What do you like talking about? What do you have a specific or unique viewpoint about? What topic is it that gets your blood pumping? Or as I like to say...
Be patient: I didn't think I would be able to sit there, take a piece of wood and carve something artistic out of it. I probably would have chucked that piece of wood at something (or someone) if after about 30 minutes I didn't have a miniature model of the Taj Mahal.
Carving out something worthwhile in your life takes time. Be patient and it will start to take shape at some point. The secret here is that the steps have to be taken whether you are seeing results or not!
Much of what my life is now, I had no earthly idea, much less belief, would be possible today. The steps I continued to take, unbeknownst to me, continued to add up until something happened. Something quite amazing. It would not have been possible though if I hadn't continued to carve out my duck over time. I am now able to confidently state that I have a newfound level of confidence and self-esteem, I'm happier and feel more fulfilled than ever.
So remember to keep carving and carving and don't throw out that piece of wood.
Good luck with your duck!
LOVE-INSPIRE-HEAL
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