Positioning

In my lifetime I’ve been really blessed with some amazing opportunities and over the years people have commented on how lucky I am. How lucky I am to travel extensively, or how lucky I am to have nice things, and certainly how lucky I’ve been to get unique opportunities such as my latest adventure visiting Ree Drummond at her ranch in Oklahoma. And while luck sounds like a sweet, serendipitous notion, I’d argue that luck had nothing to do with it at all.

Now, I’m also quick to say that skill may not have had much to do with it either, but that is beside the point. What I’d like to talk about today is life positioning. What the heck is that? You ask? Let me tell you….

Once during a church sermon I heard a preacher say this phrase “put yourself in a position for provision”. Normally I balk at neat and tidy inspirational phrases, because wouldn’t it be awesome if everything could be that simple? Like a phrase could inspire you to be more than what you are or encourage you to go places you’d like to go? Well, I’m not the type of person who is that easily motivated, but this particularly phrase struck a chord within me and I squirreled that little phrase away in my brain and chewed on it for awhile.

After my baby passed away, I decided that if I was going to survive that whole ordeal, I’d indeed have to position myself to receive something different for my life. However, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to position myself to receive. Really I wasn’t sure what I had to offer society or what I really wanted out of life after the loss. So I sat down at my dining room table one sunny morning and I wrote down everything in life that I thought would make me happy.

Here is what my list looked like from the best of my recollection:

1. I don’t want to be mad at God anymore.
2. I’d like to have a daughter again.
3. I want to want to wake up every day.
4. I want to laugh and have fun.
5. I want to be recognized for my cooking abilities.
6. I want to go to Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Hawaii before I die.
7. I want to be financially secure.
8. I want to be thin.
9. I want to make new friends.

Now I’m not going to bore you with telling you how I accomplished each area mentioned, but I will share a few. Alas, I have not made it to Switzerland or Hawaii yet and the thin thing has been a little elusive. And the financially secure part is about as secure as anyone else in the Country right about now…. but besides all that, I’ve done fairly well. Of course this has taken place over the course of a decade, but still, it’s a good example on how positioning yourself mentally and physically for the right opportunities can give you a beneficial outcome.

God:

I don’t share my spiritual beliefs on my blogs, but believe you me, I’m a spiritual being. Naturally I had a bone to pick with God after the death of my daughter, but I realized that I needed Him on my side if I was going to survive that mess, so I made my peace with Him in that area as best I could. I figured that if I was going to get anywhere with that list, I’d need Him as an ally.

Wanting to wake up:

This was a bit of a challenge for me because at that point I kind of wanted to check out permanently. I had to force myself to find things that I knew would bring color back to my life. I threw myself into couponing again, making each shopping trip a mental math game of paying next to nothing for my orders, not so much to get the stuff for free as much as keep my mind busy. The more numbers and products I had in my brain, the less I thought about darker stuff. Of course we had the added benefit of a stockpile that any doomsday believer would drool over. I also started planning short, affordable weekend trips once every couple of months with my family that would get me out of dodge and into an environment that was fun.

Being recognized for cooking:

Cooking competitions have always intrigued me, so when I sought recognition in this area, I knew I’d have to sniff out winning opportunities. This started with local fairs, moved on to county fairs, and then on to winning a national competition. While competing I realized that many of my competitors were good, but not amazing. Still, these contestants won prizes because their recipes were the best of what was present. Once again proving to me that it isn’t always skill, it’s putting yourself into the mix that can make all of the difference. You can’t win if you don’t enter. This is sort of my philosophy for life in general. Mull on that little nugget for awhile.

Making new friends:

Yeah, I can see you already rolling your eyes. “Like she needs to find a way to make friends”. I can already hear you thinking that. Yes, I’m outgoing, but making friends is not as easy when you aren’t in the workplace. So I started a women’s organization in my town which was a girl’s night out group.We’d meet once a month to have dinner and drinks at area restaurants. At the very first event I met my buddy Cindy and we’ve been tight ever since. I would’ve never met her if I hadn’t put myself out there and started the group. It pays to take the bull by the horns when you want something for your life. If there doesn’t appear to be a way to make new friends, start a group. I highly suggest using Meetup.

Now, could these things have happened if I hadn’t positioned myself for them to enter my life? Doubtful. I had to think about what I wanted and then make an action plan to put myself where I needed to be to receive the blessing. I wholeheartedly believe that each of us is capable of getting what we want out of life if we just figure out what it is we want and then place ourselves where we need to be to receive it. Yes, this involves work. No, it doesn’t always come quickly. But with some thought and effort, it is quite possible to get what you want out of life.

How about you? Do you feel like you are positioning yourself properly for growth or are you feeling like you are stuck in a rut?