It’s amazing the amount of energy we’re willing to expend day after day to maintain what isn’t working, to avoid fixing what’s broken, and to keep doing what we know we should stop.
Friction comes in many forms. It comes…
- Wrapped in the putting off and postponing of procrastination.
- In the slow death of good enough as we pursue perfection.
- On the tentacles of technology as we are ever-connected and never present.
- In the bone-weary tiredness of overbooked busyness.
- In the physical clutter that surrounds.
- In the mental and emotional clutter that creates self-doubt and cripples confidence.
- Each and every time we allow the past to dictate our future.
- In the soul-numbing quest to keep up with the Joneses.
- As we hang on to habits even knowing they diminish us.
Friction in all its forms acts upon us, wearing us down.
I’ve come to believe much of this friction is self-imposed and comes from a two-fold unwillingness:
- Unwillingness to see things as they truly are—acknowledge and own the friction.
- Unwillingness to do the heavy lifting and hard work to change—whether a change in behavior, attitude, boundaries or beliefs.
Friction is in MY life and in YOUR life when we’re unwilling to change.
Which creates a clash and conflict between who we want to be and the reality of how we show up in our lives.
Which means we bump up against unrealized potential and dreams deferred.
Lately I’ve been thinking about this quote:
“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”
—Frances Willard
Are you wasting your life in friction? What will turn friction into momentum?
