My good friend Judith said it best when she described success as " a freight train that could wreck your life". We see young energetic intelligent woman feeling like they're beating their head against the wall all the time at ILN Offices. How can a choice you make one day wreck thousands of days worth of work? It is a simple success curve we all face and I will refer it it as "Judith's Freight Train" syndrome from now on.
At some point in our lives we look at the things we have accomplished and over come and decide we are going to hit the ground running and chase after our dreams. Think of this stage as filling the furnace with coal. There you are day after day, sweating over the furnace of your dream juggling work, the family, being there for the ones that need you etc. The better you are at shoveling at this point, the MORE LIKELY you are to encounter JFT Syndrome.
How can this be a bad thing? Because, eventually you have to stop filling the furnace and coast. You have to assimilate, and learn to control the train at increasing rates of speed. When setting out in the car I decide if I will drive 30 miles an hour across town, or 60 miles an hour on the freeway around town. No one gets in the car and puts the petal to the medal just hoping for a good outcome. We design a route in our mind, and follow that (or the GPS) I often see these strong hearted young women pumping fuel into their families, their careers, their industries and their men until the train is moving so fast no one can control it. Eventually its derailed and crashes. The pressure from one area or another blows a hole of steam through the engine and time and resources are wasted filling up that hole before anyone can move even and inch further.
What I see happening, especially to independently supported woman who are in contracting and similar positions of self employment often when they find too much success too quickly. The world is thirsting for strong women to step up to the plate as they always have through our history to set things right. It all starts deep within our homes, within the heart of the woman. The women are the matriarch of our families. We are the givers of life. Women find ways to give life, and in whatever industry lights her passion, a woman will give her life, and drench that furnace with coal until it is burning hotter and faster than some thought possible.
So how do we control it? Choose wisely the things that are important to you. We can not expect to have the strength to change things in our enviroment, or situation over night, so where ever you are, take the time to stop and think about where you are and where you are going. Look forward every day to reaching only the goals of that day, and make sure you set a specific time very day for your day to end. We all need alone time and far too many women are neglecting to take this time for themselves at the end of every day.
At the end of the day when we roll the days events over and set goals for the following day, we need to assess the opportunities and decisions that are available to us carefully. Make sure that each project you put on your plate is going to get you closer and stronger near the place you want to be.
As matriarchs, and givers of life, we give life to the dreams and hopes of others often. The hopes of our children, the dreams of our men, the encouragement we keep on hand for our sisters and brothers are all examples. If you have already decided what is important to you, what is worth mustering your strength for, it is easier to stop at the end of the day and make the choice to take a few coals out of the oven. Slow down the train and make sure its headed in the direction you want it to go, back track if you have to while your still in control. Just dont wait for the wall to tell your freight train its time to step off. Choose wisely for yourself.
Lou C Diamond, Founder www.IntuitiveLifeNetwork.org ( twitter.com/ILNorg ) Organizer of www.NewEnglandSEERs.com (twitter.com/NewEnglandSEERs Gemjin Producer www.gemjin.com managed by choicetreasures.com for interviews, appearances and drops send an email to contact@choicetreasures.com
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