And… Action!!
It’s hard for me to share this with the outside world because it’s still work in progress throughout my current being. I have not quite figured it out or mastered this approach yet but I know I’ve made so many achievements over the past 6 years because of it.
For most of my life I have been keenly observant. I would study life, family, people, social groups, and myself closely to understand why we made certain choices. To be more specific: like what inspired us to act or better yet, what inspires us to do anything given our unique or special circumstances. So basically most of who I am and what I wanted to become existed inside my head. There is one specific moment that started a domino effect of where I am right now in this process.
The First time I chose to act.
I always remember this one moment in my young life that I believe defines who I was and has inspired me to be the person I am today. I was 10 years old, and I wanted to be on my under 14 soccer team. To be on the Cornwall College under 14 team is something that was always on my mind. My dad was a respected soccer player locally, and though he wasn’t really apart of my life, I still had the opportunity to watch him play on select Sundays. I can honestly say that is the only time in my life where I wanted to be like him. It was a Saturday night after the Jerk Chicken man had already sold out and everyone headed back to their homes to go to bed in preparation for Church on Sunday. My best friends Keon and O’Neal went inside to go to bed, so I got my old football from the side of my house in Catherine Hall Montego Bay and went under the street light at the end of the block at Keon’s house. That night I connected with a different side of myself.
To gain more control over the football I need to be better at keep ups. So that night, I set out to accomplish doing 100 keep ups without making the ball hit the road or the side walk. I would visualize myself running on to the field with number 10 on my jersey with Todd above it. I could literally smell the grass, feel how perfect my shin guards felt, and hear my sister yelling my name. I could even feel how connected I felt to my team because I was the star player.
I started at about 10:30PM that night, and I was so invested in my goal that I didn’t leave under that street light till I got to 100. In fact, at times I got to 90, 95, 98, and even 99. Though I got close to my goal, I knew I needed to get to a 100. Of course, I could lie about it the next day, but to me that wasn’t necessary. It would feel better to actually do it.
No matter how long it took, I knew I was going to get it done. I learned so much about myself that night. There was no one there to celebrate with me. No one there to support. No one there to tell me that I could do it or tell me to keep going when I failed many times. At about 3:30AM after multiple failed attempts, I surpassed 100 keep-up, and my heart exploded with joy. I was exhausted physically and mentally. I even did it a 2nd time to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.
I was happy that I achieved my goal and knew the struggle it took to get there, but I had gained this level of focus that made me feel like I could achieve 10,000 keep-ups. That focus gave me the confidence and motivation that enabled me to make the U14 team that fall with the number 12 on my jersey as the 2nd Half right wing Striker.
As I have mentioned, I was 10 maybe 11 years old when I achieved my goal of making the U14 team, but throughout my life I would remind myself, whenever I was spending too much time in my head, that I needed to take action. Throughout high school, college, and most of my adult hood, I am still on this journey to go from thought to action. Even with that realization as child, it is not until 2022 that I instantaneously took action before it settled as a repeat movie in my head.
My Realization:
That moment has lead me to many achievements in my life but none more important than lately. I launched a 5 year dream in Dine & Dance. I was able to serve the community through Plated Soul in response to mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market. I was able to balance Musicality Central, Plated Soul and a promotion at work. I achieved physical goals and so many more.
The bottom line is this. I realized being observant and a hard worker was not enough. When I wrote my goals down, I also needed to take action and be as fearless about pursuing them as possible. Being that I love the affair I have with words and beautifully organizing them to create stories, I am now creating stories through action. That is basically what I wanted to share. All the ideas, poetry, short stories, motivational speeches, advice, and accountability speeches have been transferred to this outside world.
How this might help You.
I feel like I am always giving you these stories about never giving up on yourself or the things you want for your life. My goal is not to make you feel like you are not trying. My goal is to share how I never stopped trying. I learned to think, create, speak and take action toward my goals, and that has made the difference in my life today. I am continuously growing and learning so I am destined to learn more from failures than my successes.
Make this year the year you take action. Write your goals down not only on paper but in your mind and heart. If you don’t have anyone to support you or encourage you to win, then let this blog serve as a written document that empowers you to keep going even when it seems impossible. I have worked passed impossible more times than I can remember by now and let me be frank in saying it was hard. However, the joy that fills your cells when you’ve achieved something you have worked hard for over a long period of time is absolutely priceless and unreplaceable. I truly want that for you.
Final Thought:
Life is an action movie in our heads but the beauty of living takes place when we take action in this reality.