Why life will keep going without you if you let it

When you hear the same words on repeat, you can’t help but get curious:

Is the spreading of the thought perpetual and harmless, or worth interrupting before it becomes pervasive? As a saying ingrains itself in our vernacular, we run the risk of it becoming true. After all, our repeated thoughts become our beliefs, our beliefs lead us to action, and our actions create our reality. (If you don’t read any further, remember this: words have power).

So what is this popular string of words that could be keeping you from creating the reality (the life, the business, the career) you want?:

“When the dust settles”.

To start, what does it even mean for the dust to settle?

If you’re waiting for the dust to settle, you could be waiting a long time.

(Spoiler alert: it’s never going to happen). Life will keep going without you if you let it. If you don’t take the time to slow down; to take stock of what’s working, what’s not, and what you want more of in your life.

When you subscribe to the mindset of settling dust, you’re living a life of conditions: when this happens, that will happen. You’ve surrendered your power to choose and you play the victim of your circumstances.

So what are you waiting for? What are you delaying? Pausing? Putting on hold?

How much longer are you going to wait for the “dust to settle”? At first thought/glance, this waiting period seems harmless, but your whole life is at risk. Because here’s the thing:

Your life is your life. All of it.

How you are living, who you are being, is reflected in every other aspect and domain of your life: your business, your career, your relationships, your health - they all mirror who you are. One can’t exist without the other. It’s no coincidence that hitting pause in one area of your life is causing all areas of your life to also be held up.

And while we’re waiting for the dust to settle on the surface, what is the narrative running underneath?

In other words:

What are you avoiding?

If something isn’t working, you aren’t happy, you feel stuck, could the change you’re seeking be the very thing you’re avoiding? We all know what we don’t want but do you know what you do want? Could you be keeping yourself from being open to a different, a better, way? Knowing what we want is a challenge in and of itself, but it can be equally as challenging to say it out loud; to take action towards our goals, to create the life we want, to make our dreams a reality. The truth is:

What you want might require stepping out of your comfort zone and into unfamiliarity.

And that’s when our ego shows up with a vengeance and fear takes hold. Followed by doubt. By judgment. By shame. Fear often shows up not because we’re afraid of not getting what we want, but we worry about what will happen if we do. We become more attached to the fear, the resistance, the thing that is in our way than the outcome itself.

When we are living in fear, we can’t live in possibility.

When we live in fear we deny ourselves from seeing around the corner, finding another path, opening a different door, we are stuck in limbo.

In order to step forward, away from the dust and the fear, we must step into responsibility. Responsibility for ourselves, our emotions, and our actions. Responsibility relieves judgment. Responsibility restores choice.

Waiting for the dust to settle may feel like you’re doing nothing, but you’re in fact doing everything.

No choice is still a choice.

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” - René Descartes

So let me ask you this:

If not now, when?

There is no better moment than the present moment. There is no better time than right now.

Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, creator, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!