Fall has come to Wisconsin. Ya’ll… I LOVE fall. Apple picking, pumpkins, pulling on a sweatshirt and drinking a hot cup of tea on the first cool morning. Those things are magical. But I spent most of 2014’s Wisconsin arboreal color show complaining about how much I hate winter. Dreading the first snow. Generally bitching and allowing my bad attitude to create a shadow over the gold and cinnamon smell of fall.

I noticed this same habit a few weeks ago while I was driving home from a class on the other side of town. I had wrapped myself around a theoretical situation in which I was going to lose a friend and mentor and I was going to fail miserably at something I was working on. I had no proof of any of these things being in the works, but I had actually worked out an entire conversation in my head around the situation as if it had already happened and was about to start crying.

Then it dawned on me: I was almost in tears, heart poundingly panicked about something that was completely hypothetical. That – in fact – my present state was cruising down an open road on a blue-sky, green fields, summer afternoon and that nothing particularly bad had happened that day. So I decided that until something bad actually happened, I would just stay with what I was doing and what was happening. And when/if the s!#@ hit the fan, I would deal with it then.

I turned on the radio and had quite a lovely afternoon. My training session that evening was focused and incredibly productive. I was blessed to spend time with my friend the next day in a way that left me feeling supported and loved (and a little silly for imagining myself into a tizzy.)

So here’s the question for fall and for day-to-day existence in a life where suffering just is and will be a thing:

How much time do you waste worrying about the bad s@#$ that MIGHT happen??  

What would happen in your life if you spent that time dealing with what’s in front of you NOW??

It’s a mindset thing, really. A decision to remember to say “That hasn’t happened yet. What is happening now?” while still being adult enough to make forward thinking choices. (There’s something to be said about the other side of this coin in which a person ignores potential issues. But I’ll write that when I’ve had a few glasses of wine…ha!)

Can you embrace Fall this year … ?

notice the “oh dear god winter’s coming” thoughts and not let them snuff out your pumpkin scented candle? How would it feel to live your life that way?

Let me know! 

I’ll send a pumpkin scented candle to three lucky followers when my email list reaches 200 (SIGN UP BELOW!) or my Facebook page reaches 300 … if what’s in front of you is a need for coaching, shoot me an email for a free consultation over the phone or in person.