“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” — Unknown

By Dawn Onley

Is something in life just not working for you? It doesn’t matter what it is — a relationship, a job, a belief, an exercise regimen, whatever – the point is, if it’s no longer working, why are you still clinging onto it? Heck, it may have never worked. Yet, month after month, here you are hanging on, as if it’s still better to hold out hope rather than chalk up your losses and go in another direction.

I’m all about hope. In fact, I co-write this blog dedicated to women like us, who hope. My optimistic brain usually leans to the possibility of a thing working out.

But I’m also a realist. Sometimes you need to know when to hope and other times you need to learn when to let go. Just like the Kenny Rogers song “you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run…”

When you have the persistent feeling that things will not work out, that things will not get better, that your heart is not into this, or that you need to try another approach, don’t wait. Do it. Hope was never meant to pacify us or keep us holding on, uninspired, in a state of lethargy.

Don’t be afraid to change course. I’m writing these words to myself as clearly as I’m writing them to you. We can test the winds and adjust our sails. We can learn from our mistakes and from our experiences – good and bad. We can walk boldly through our fears, into a life that is better designed for us. We can strive for better.

We are tough. We are built for this. It takes one step in a new direction — a new city, a new venture, a new approach to getting the finances in order, or whatever it is. Usually the first step is the hardest, but also the most gratifying.

Let’s start today, planning our way ahead, becoming who we were always meant to be.