A few years ago my son and I went to Mammoth Cave in southern Utah. There were parts that were slippery, muddy, and a tight squeeze. But, one of the weirdest parts of the cave experience is when you are far enough in that if everyone turns off their flashlight, you are in complete darkness. I am talking about the kind of darkness where you cannot see your own fingers even if they are two inches away from your face. It is downright scary.
I had a reminder of that experience this week as I was leaving my office after-hours. The light switches are next to the alarm-setting panel, and I found myself walking down a hallway with near complete darkness. This is a hallway that I walk down multiple times a day, without any fear or reservation. This is a hallway that never has anything in it to trip me. It is a “safe” hallway. But, I found myself gravitating towards where I could feel the walls, and I was nervous and slowing my step. I cannot remember exactly what little bit of light was 25 feet ahead of me at the end of the hallway, but there was a little bit of residual red light showing. If I looked directly at that tiny bit of light at the end of my desired destination, it somehow changed my comfort in moving forward. I could see where I wanted to end up, even if I wasn’t there yet. I was literally half way down the hall when I realized that this is what I needed to share this month.
I think that starting fresh, or a new beginning, is a lot like walking down a very, very dark hallway. It is scary to enter the dark hallway (new beginning,) and the walls usually hold us up, not move us forward. But, the little bit of light at our destination (goal) makes it more comfortable to keep going. The little bit of red light was simply something that I found that if I focused on, could help me walk forward more confidently, with a little more pep in my step.
I heard a friend once say that “goals are dreams, only in writing.” Maybe she was quoting someone famous? But, I have not heard it again except for that once and it stuck with me. That light at the end of the long hallway is “defining my finish line,” and it was me wanting to get to this light that propelled me forward. Walls do not move us forward; they box us into our caves or hallway. Why do we feel so comfortable with walls? I admit the wall was the first thing that I looked for as I started down the hallway. But, I don’t want to hold onto the walls in my life. I want to let them go. I want to find new beginnings without walls to slow me down.
I am choosing a new goal today with a marked finish line for re-evaluation, and I am going to move forward with confidence while focusing on the light at the end and not my walls of limitation.
What are you going to do?
Brook Hammond- Attorney and
Motivational Author & Speaker
Question: “Why do you want to listen to anything I have to say?” Answer: “I haven’t a clue.” But, I think we likely have something fundamental in common, which is that our lives don’t look and/or feel like we expected them to. Each day I am learning to find joy in the unexpected.
Professionally, I have earned the right to belong to an exclusive attorney group called the “Million Dollar Advocate Forum.” I am a trial attorney and have been practicing personal injury law for ten years (licensed in both Nevada and Utah.) A fun tidbit about me is that I am a part of Nevada’s history as Miss Nevada USA 1995, and a motivational youth speaker since 1991. I am a monthly contributor to PRISTeen Magazine, a teen fashion magazine that focuses on girls’ inner beauty.
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