As I’m sitting by the poolside on a condo rooftop in City Center, Las Vegas, I keep on thinking about how crazy life can be, and how quickly circumstances can change when setting intentions and letting go. Our short, synchronistic stay right on the strip—as pretentious and flashy of a reputation the city may have—feels oddly appropriate.
It’s a larger-than-life reminder that anything can happen. While there are inevitable losses along the way, there’s also the chance to win big with some strategic risks, persistence and a little bit of luck.
In the past month, I’ve shifted my focus to helping my husband on his website and channels while looking for more opportunities outside of freelance work. Since combining both of our efforts, we’ve seen considerable growth on multiple channels. In the next week, I will begin a contract at an agency I’m really excited about.
Two months earlier, we were in a different mentality and place.
Many of our goals seemed daunting back in August. Freelance work being a bit slow over the summer added to the stress.
We decided to tweak our approach to find a better way. Through consistently putting out content, remaining flexible, and paying attention to what was working and what wasn’t, we’ve achieved more results in the past three months than in the past year. By deciding to look for more stable opportunities, I’ve taken the stress of finding freelance work out of the equation.
At this point, we know what we’re doing will work.
It’s simply a matter of time and consistent work to build to the level we need for our intentional living lifestyle. Until then, I will be sharpening my skill set in digital marketing, and applying my knowledge to our website and channels. I share this because I want to emphasize that anything can happen with the commitment and belief that you will find a way.
By setting intentions and letting go of how and when you get there, you will find a way.
It can be difficult to let go of the how and when, especially in our instant gratification, results-oriented culture. As someone who prefers to plan and anticipate, I know how nerve-wracking it can be when things don’t go as planned.
Things didn’t quite turn out the way we thought when my husband left his full-time job and I wrapped up a main contract I had earlier in the year. What ended up happening when I initially took my first big leap from finance I never could’ve fathomed.
When you take a leap, there’s no way to know what, how and when things will happen.
The best way I’ve learned to deal with the vast unknowns is to remain flexible on the outcomes in the short-term while remaining committed to the long-term outcome. Even if what you do today, next week or next month may not yield the progress or results you’re looking for—learn, adjust and keep on moving forward.
By simply embracing whatever happens as part of the path of getting to where you want to go, by accepting and learning from the current situation, you will achieve what it is you’re after at some point in the future.
It’s easier to embrace the short-term uncertainty when you learn how to direct your thoughts. Your thoughts determine everything—it impacts how you feel, what things mean to you and what decisions you end up making.
So instead of thinking about how things can go wrong—what we primarily do most of, we should at least spend an equal amount of time thinking about all the possible ways things can go amazingly.
Shift into a more positive frame of thinking through being thankful for what you have. By holding the feeling of happiness and gratitude for what you have while you pursue all that you want, you shift your thinking into the positive. In this frame of mind, you’re better positioned to recognize and go after opportunities.
It’s been amazing to see how everything has unfolded so quickly, seemingly with a life of its own in the past several weeks. I’m still somewhat in awe. Perhaps that’s just what happens when you let go and trust that things will unfold in time. Perhaps that’s the magic of setting intentions and letting go.