Don't Chase What You Already Have

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Tracy Baranauskas, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

So, here’s a bit of a confession from my walk this morning…

It was a cold, but beautiful morning, and the sun actually made a brief appearance as I ventured out. Thoughts were coming to me fast as I hit the trail. I had a lot on my mind. 

I recently joined a new coaching mastermind group and I was thinking a lot about the ideas that had been discussed on our last call.  My thoughts felt overwhelming because there are so many things that I want to implement and my brain was bouncing from one thing to the next.

I was also thinking about my elderly father.  He has been facing some serious health issues, and it has been sad for me to see him not feeling well.  As I walked, I was strategically going over his schedule of appointments in my head, and trying to reassure myself that I hadn’t forgotten anything.

Oh, and then my thoughts bounced to the holidays. I mentally made a grocery list for Thanksgiving dinner, and tried to figure out when I will be able to get to the store.  And then I thought about how quickly Christmas will be here.

“Yikes,” I thought. “This feels like a lot!” 

I felt sorry for myself as I indulged in more unhelpful thoughts.  “All I really want is to relax and enjoy my life, but I don’t see how that is EVER going to happen.”

“I need to get organized, hustle, and knock all this stuff out so I can finally feel at peace,” I decided.

My head was down as I plodded along the trail I was on, deep in thought and overwhelm.

“Will I be able to do this?  There is so much to do.”

Well, after a longer while than I care to admit, I realized what I was doing, and I stopped and looked up.

There, right in front of me, was a stunning, tree that had lost most of its leaves but was full of red, plump berries.  It was full of something else too: bright red cardinals.  What a gorgeous sight!

I watched them for quite a while, and listened to their beautiful calls.  I took some deep breathes and became very present in the moment.  And as you may have guessed, I FELT PEACEFUL, RELAXED AND I WAS ENJOYING MYSELF!

“Oh my gosh”, I thought.  “What a tale you were telling!  There is nothing you have to do to feel the way you would like to feel other than allow yourself to feel it. Stop telling yourself that you need circumstances to be different in order to be happy, and focus on how you can feel happy NOW.”

I reminded myself to stop chasing what I already have.

So, here’s another confession, this isn’t the first time I’ve become lost in thoughts of insufficiency.

However, I now have become much better at catching myself in this unhelpful thought flow. And I have learned that the best antidote to turn things around quickly is presence and gratitude.

When I decide to stop focusing on what might be lacking in my life and truly focus on all the goodness that I have right in front of me, peaceful feelings of contentment return.

Has this ever happened to you?

What feelings are you chasing? Peace, joy, love, security, contentment, freedom, happiness, or something else? 

How much is already available to you right now? 

Are you willing to acknowledge and allow it in?

This is vital to feeling fulfilled in your life.

You see, if you don’t ever recognize what you have and allow yourself to enjoy it, you will always keep chasing something that you will never find.

This is big.

Centering in presence and gratitude can change everything.