The title of the book I’m writing is Take it to the Next Level: How to Rise in Life.
What does the subtitle of the book mean? What does it mean to rise in life?
I believe that rising has to do with overcoming difficulties, obstacles or challenges whether they be physical, mental, psychological or emotional.
There never seems to be a dearth of such impediments. Like a garden that is filled with both beautiful flowers and weeds, we need to take the time to uproot all of those elements, ‘weeds,’ that are both unnecessary and hinder that which needs to ‘bloom’ in our lives.
This kind of work doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t happen overnight either.
If you’ve ever gardened, you’ll recognize that some weeds are tougher, more embedded in the soil than others. Rooting them out involves not only possessing the right tools but being willing to expend quite a bit of effort—toil and sweat even! In the case of gardening, nothing happens without getting our hands dirty, even if we’re wearing gloves.
But isn’t the effort worth it? Isn’t it wonderful to look at a garden with its neatly arranged, wide variety of flowers and perhaps fruits and vegetables? Doesn’t it make us feel good knowing that such beauty is the result of our hard work?
As in the metaphor of the garden, it takes time to ‘clear one’s mind’ and this endeavor could be described as a refining process. By ‘weeding,’ ‘clearing,’ mulling over, considering, understanding, properly dealing with—respecting even—those pernicious and unpalatable impediments—thoughts, beliefs, behaviors or people—that stand in the way of our heart’s desires, we advance along Destiny’s Path.
Destiny’s Path is the path you and I were always meant to walk on, but invariably either got or continue to get sidetracked from. This path was and is always there, and the idea is to wrench ourselves free from forces—internal or external—that are —consciously or subconsciously—trying to keep us from walking on it.
Destiny’s Path is the smooth path. It’s the path that carries us forward in an almost effortless way. It is the path that has our name written all over it. It’s like the Yellow Brick Road from the Wizard of Oz. It is distinct and unmistakably belongs to us.
As we ‘jump fences,’ so to speak, we’re advancing toward our destination, our goal: and we’re either getting back onto Destiny’s Path or moving along on it. We could have one goal, or more than one. It is typically a series of micro-goals, what Arianna Huffington terms micro-steps, that leads to one bigger, macro goal. The all-encompassing dream: that which exists at the end of Destiny’s Path.
A hurdle will primarily teach us what we like or don’t like; who we are or are not. Some obstacles will be tougher than others and may even seem insurmountable. They aren’t. Forward movement eventually transforms them into paper tigers.
It is in the process of ‘clearing hurdles’ that we rise in life. To clear a ‘hurdle’ means to fully understand it. This has to do with learning the lesson that a hurdle teaches.
That’s because psychological processes take place in the process of going through, moving through, clearing those aspects of our life that are preventing us from rising.
It’s in the ‘jumping and clearing’ that we cut through whatever acts as an obstacle to our advancement on Destiny’s Path.
Before we can ‘rise’ above the ‘muck and mire,’ we need to clear it. We need to listen to what life is telling us; recognize or see things for what they are; and roll up our sleeves and get creative. These are the three principles whose first letters respectively stand for LRC, short for Luba Rascheff Consultancy.
LRC is the process that I, Luba Rascheff, use to help you help yourself.
Book your appointment today by clicking on the Contact tab of the menu bar and let’s Take it to the Next Level together,
Luba