Hey Goal Setting Babes,
I want to investigate the idea of blooming where you are planted! Have you heard this before? I’m almost positive that you probably have. When you hear it what does it make you think of? Do you visualize a pretty little garden? How about a patch of dirt with a few sprouts popping up? What about a dusty, little dry patch of earth where nothing grows? Which one of these sounds like the way you view your current situation in life?
When I hear the phrase “Bloom Where You Are Planted” I see a lush green flower bed full of brightly coloured wildflowers on a large manicured lawn that overlooks vast rolling hills. I can close my eyes and see the whole image so vividly, like it is right in front of me like I’m standing in it, immersed in the sounds and smells. When I reflect on that image and I put myself there it is just as real as any memory I have from growing up and that is pretty powerful. But I want to be critically clear, this wasn’t always the image that came into my brain when I closed my eyes and thought about it. For a very long time the image that came to my mind when I heard the phrase “bloom where you are planted” was the dry little patch of dirt that needed some serious grass seed and about 100 gallons of water. Here is the thing about blooming where you are planted, you need to be willing to grow.
I don’t want to say that I was a negative nelly but, my mindset definitely wasn’t in the right place for a little while, it certainly wasn’t a growth mindset. Long before I found a goal-setting process that gave my life a complete 180, I didn’t believe that you could create your own outcomes or that you could be in charge of the directions your life took. I felt very strongly that “ it is, what it is, and that’s all there is”. My mindset was in scarcity mode, I had what I had, there wasn’t ever going to be more. I hadn’t yet come to the realization that I held the cards and could change, affirm, or create my ideal surroundings simply by changing my mindset. The moment that I realized that the grass was greener where I watered it, not just on the other side.. my whole world changed.
Here is the thing, you ultimately have the power to change the way you view the world and how you let the world affect you. Now, don’t get me wrong… bad things can still happen, and everything isn’t always going to be rainbows and butterflies, but you get to choose how you react and what you do to counter the bad. This life will always be what you make it and I am a firm believer (now) that everything happens for a reason. Even though sometimes we need to be angry and hurt, and we want to feel it in our bones, and say “why me”, we get caught crying over a closed-door that didn’t have anything behind it, to begin with, Forward Progress, Always.
So what does any of this have to do with blooming where you are planted? I want you to take a hard look at your life, and where you are right now. Do you have that lush image of a beautifully planted garden, or is your image like mine used to be, a little dirt patch in need of some love? What do you think you are going to need to do in order to get to a place where you are happy with the life you’ve created vs where you are now? I’m not going to sugar coat it if you want a change you’re going to need to work, girl. You have to work at whatever it is you want, even when it feels hard because that is the only way you’re going to move forward. When it gets hard, and you don’t “feel like it”, ask yourself if you just don’t feel like it or, if the thing you’re working toward just isn’t a priority. I’m willing to bet you’ll choose differently.
For me, it took a lot of self-reflection and I spent a ridiculous amount of time ( and I still do) personally developing. It took me a long time to get into the habit and to make it something that was a part of my regular routine. I had to find authors and storytellers that spoke to me, that influenced my perception of what I could turn my life into. It started with “The Best Life Podcast” by Jill Coleman and Danny J. They had a ton of guests and each one led to me someone else that inspired or influenced me. I listened and learned and took in every ounce of the things they said. These people, their stories and their life’s ambitions resonated with me. Once I started listening, I didn’t want to stop because I started to understand a very powerful concept: I am in charge of my story and I get to sail the ship.
By becoming aware that I was the one who could transform my own narrative, I started to worry less and less about what people were going to think about me, or what other people thought my “garden” looked like. I chose to step into my own creativity, and work on my personal goals, my systems, my habits and creating Forward Progress because it spoke to my heart’s desires and when it did, it set my soul on fire. I focused on bettering myself from where I was currently at, I tried to bloom where I was mother fucking planted and it made all the difference.
You can bloom too, I know that you can. Sometimes we just need a kick in the butt or a fresh perspective to help jolt us out of our regular old routine, to realize that this isn’t what we wanted and that we were made for more. If you’ve decided now is the time, I’d love to help you get started on your own goal setting journey and help you realize that you really can bloom exactly where you are planted too.
With Love and Inspired Action,
Emily Cody