Get Out of Your Way.

Is there something you want from life, yet no matter what you do it seems to elude you? You can blame whatever you want to, but the truth is, you are probably standing in your own way.
For most of you who are reading this, nearly anything you can strive for in this life is achievable. I have believed this ever since I can remember. I am not sure where this belief originated, maybe I was born with it, or maybe my parents told me that age old cliche, "you can do anything you set your mind to." I don't actually believe you can do anything you set your mind to though, I believe you can achieve nearly anything you focus on and work toward using a good process. Ideas are cheap, thoughts are cheap, actions are what is worth something, doing is what is valuable.
Humor me for a moment and suppose I am right. If this is true, why then do so many people seem unhappy or feel as if they aren't doing what they want? Why do so many people have dreams but are so far away from them? Why do people have plans for retirement or "someday" scenarios that never happen? My answer is this: they don't make those things happen.
About two years ago I realized that the trajectory of my life would land me in a place that I knew I would regret. I was working my ass off for a meager amount of money and the hopes that one day it would amount to something. That is not to say those years weren't valuable. I did realize however, that I was not happy with what I was doing with my life and that continuing on the path I was on would not lead to happiness. Once I finally realized that I was now constantly hating my job, which was 60-80 hours a week of my life, I quit. I spent a few months letting my brain reset, but as my savings began to dwindle I knew I had to get another job. I had dreams, but dreams do not pay bills. So, I got another job. The difference this time was that I knew this job was temporary and I treated it as such. I did not let it become one of the most important things in my life and I kept on searching for what it was that I really wanted. I spent two and a half years on that search, and just today all of the pieces landed in place and I finally could see the whole puzzle.
Now that I can see the whole picture I realize that I always knew what I wanted, and even why I wanted it. Up until today though, I could only see the individual pieces and I didn't understand how they fit together. Truthfully, I may not have been completely honest with myself about some of them either, probably because I knew the truth would disappoint some of the people I care about. Life is too short for that though. I was listening to a book when something the narrator said aligned all of the different things I have learned over the last few years. I finally understand what I want, why I want it, and how to get it. The whole point in me telling you this is because it wasn't easy, but I kept trying. For years. It was difficult, fuzzy, and discouraging like all new things a person tries to learn. I kept pushing though, and it has finally paid off.
The biggest realization that came with this moment of clarity was that I was the only thing holding myself back. I accomplished this by wanting things, chasing what I thought would get me to that long term goal but with short term work. I was searching for something that I was in fact tripping over the whole time, I just wouldn't look down and see it for what it was. It all seems so clear now, but these things always do after the fact. As they say, hind sight is 20-20, another cliche that speaks so much truth once you have experienced it. The only thing that I believe got me through my own self sabotage was continuing. That sounds stupid and simple, but it is true. I always knew I was close when I found a piece, sometimes I even thought the individual piece was the whole picture. You have to keep going though, don't give up, push through, keep moving. You will rot if you stay in one spot.
I was unhappy with my job for a few years before I quit, and it has taken me almost another three to figure out what it is I truly want. You will have to go through this process the hard way, it is the only way, but learn from my mistakes and make it a little bit easier on yourself. If you are unhappy, get out of your own way and make a change. You cannot discover the path until you are on it and planning can't take you past the first bend. You have to start and learn and adjust as you go.
The only thing left for me now is to focus and work. I know it will take a couple years to achieve what I am aiming at, but if I had started when I first became unhappy I would be four years past my goal right now, so a couple years seems like a pretty cheap price to pay.

Be honest with yourself, don't wait, get out of your own way, and make something happen.