Roadblocks Impeding Passion

2024 Slice of Life: Day 5

I came across this and thought it might give some readers something to ponder – maybe you have a nice campfire or a starlit pool deck you can use as a peaceful setting. I mean, who couldn’t use one more thing rattling around in their cranium?

Take it, leave it. Use or lose it. Fish or cut bait. You get the idea.

The first part of the article is 5 reasons Kristi Hurley says why people do NOT follow their dreams.

1)    FEAR I’m inclined to believe this one. No matter how much we pray and put our worries and problems in the hands of the higher power, fear still exists. It’s natural, but it can take control of our lives. Kristi asks her readers if they’ve ever started something they believed was their passion, only to hit roadblocks, stopping them dead in their tracks.

I think we can all relate.  Anyone who chased down a dream hit potholes, bumps and road construction along the way. Heck, we may have even done some unintentional off-roading. I think sometimes, or maybe every time, roadblocks are our way of making excuses not to move forward. Nobody said dreaming was easy.

Mat Kearney sings, “nothing worth anything ever goes down easy.”

I get it. I do. With family, jobs and a tight budget – there’s a lot to risk. I could quit my job and put all my faith into my writing career – which I have not earned a professional penny. There’s going after your dream, and then there’s other people’s lives you put at stake if you aren’t smart about it. But fear and lack of confidence (and awareness) kept me from doing more with my writing earlier in my life. Earning my MA was a big stepping stone, but even that came with sacrifices – another reason fear is the biggest culprit. There’s always going to be something we miss. It’s the downside of taking the road less traveled.

2)    EASIER PATH Here Kristi says when things get tough we gravitate towards the road more traveled. There’s less of the unknown. More people that have done it before us we can rely on. But that particular well-beaten path may not be paved with our purpose. Those people we meet on our easier path doesn’t mean it’s theirs. They may be on the off-ramp of their dream, taking a breather or making a pitstop. Or maybe that’s exactly where they’re supposed to be. We don’t reap the benefits of easy.

3)    NOW IS JUST TOO HARD It all comes down to timing, doesn’t it? We spend so much time figuring out when to hop on life’s conveyor belt, but He may have a different plan than yours. It might be the right conveyor belt, but if you’re not ready and He says it’s time – prepare to be pushed. The spiritual push has changed many people’s lives. Are we listening? Are you dedicating time to block out all distractions and just listen?

I don’t. I’m not going to lie. But I know the more I sit down and write, the closer I become to living out my purpose. It may be a slow crawl, an inch at a time, but I feel it deep within. I am meant to do this. Maybe a million copies isn’t the plan, but if I inspire, even ruffle some feathers along the way, count me in - 100%.

But I hope I can take time every day to listen. Disrobe the burdens and listen.

To be continued…