{"id":66594,"date":"2019-07-04T20:15:06","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T04:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=66594"},"modified":"2019-07-08T19:11:16","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T03:11:16","slug":"shine-where-you-are-making-the-most-of-here-before-you-get-to-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/shine-where-you-are-making-the-most-of-here-before-you-get-to-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Shine Where You Are: Making the Most of “Here” Before You Get to “There”"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Are you exactly where you want to be?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

For most people the answer is probably \u201cNo.\u201d Maybe it\u2019s \u201cNo, not quite, but I\u2019m getting there,\u201d or maybe it\u2019s more like \u201cNo way, I\u2019m not even close!\u201d Maybe you\u2019d like a job you could enjoy more, or a bigger house, or a newer car. Maybe you\u2019re single and you want a relationship, or maybe your bank account could be a little healthier. Maybe you<\/em> could be a little healthier. Maybe you could be a little happier.<\/p>\n\n\n

It\u2019s okay to want more.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Actually, it\u2019s important<\/em> to want more. Wanting more is not the same as discontent. Wanting more is what spurs growth and progress. You can be perfectly content and comfortable with your present circumstances without them being your ultimate destination. You can have just eaten the most decadently delicious meal of your life\u2026 and still want dessert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acceptance is the key.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not the kind of acceptance that conjures images of kneeling in deference or throwing up hands in defeat. Not the kind that melts you into helplessness or apathy or surrender. You don\u2019t have to accept that your current state of affairs is your final fate. I\u2019m talking about the simple acceptance that this is where you are. Right here. Right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is your pivot point.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are experiencing discontent rather than acceptance, listen up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you accept where you are Right Now, you harness your power.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving from discontent to acceptance is like pulling a map out of your pocket when you are lost. Without consulting your map \u2013 having forgotten it is even in your possession \u2013 you are bound to wander and remain lost, never getting where you want to go. When you accept where you are, you can see the bigger picture and figure out how to get from Here to There. Then and only then can you decide what to make of your time Here, before you get to There.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t avoid your circumstances.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re here. Now. And you can\u2019t just poof<\/em> yourself into a new life. That shift is bound to take some time and some effort, so you might as well make the best of what you\u2019ve got. For example, I didn\u2019t really want<\/em> to be running a gas station in a tiny town like I was doing a few years ago. Hardly. But I was content. It was just around the corner from my home, it was decent pay, and I thrive in the service industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I called my assistant manager and myself \u201cThe Gas Station Gurus.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even on the morning shifts that started at 5:00 a.m., we had on bright smiles and we exuded a warm and friendly energy. It didn\u2019t matter that the sun hadn\u2019t come up yet, we brought the sunshine in with us! We greeted our regulars by name, and would often have their beverages or cigarettes ready before they even walked in. We provided inspiration and encouragement to those who needed it. I bought rolls of stickers to hand out to the kids and the kids-at-heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even started posting a Thought for the Week on the front door.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And I kept that up for a whole year. I still have them all in a folder in my desk. Some of them were funny, some were philosophical, some were song lyrics\u2026 It might have just been a gas station, but between the two of us we transformed it into the positivity hub of our little town. We had customers who told us that they refused to go to any of the other three gas stations in town. (Yep. Itty bitty town, four gas stations. Don\u2019t ask me to explain it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was all about our attitude.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That store certainly wasn\u2019t where either of us really<\/em> wanted to be. But we turned it into something bigger, something better. We made it a place full of fun and joy and community. We made it \u201chome\u201d for as long as we were there, until we both moved on to the next leg of our life journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t just good for the two of us.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was good for everyone around us<\/em>. Our bosses. Our employees. Our customers. Because of our efforts, everyone benefited. Instead of just fretting over the fact that I had a Bachelor\u2019s degree from a prestigious university and I was managing a gas station in the middle of nowhere, I took what I had and I made something of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t where I wanted to be. Not even close. But I accepted that, for the time being, that\u2019s where I was. I found a way for it to fill hearts and to feed my soul. And the fact that I chose to shine where I was \u2013 instead of waiting until circumstances were perfect \u2013 changed the world. Or at least my little corner of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you exactly where you want to be? For most people the answer is probably \u201cNo.\u201d Maybe it\u2019s \u201cNo, not quite, but I\u2019m getting there,\u201d or maybe it\u2019s more like \u201cNo way, I\u2019m not even close!\u201d Maybe you\u2019d like a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12853,"featured_media":66896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[21,6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nShine Where You Are: Making the Most of "Here" Before You Get to "There" - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you are experiencing discontent rather than acceptance, listen up: When you accept where you are Right Now, you harness your power to enact change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/shine-where-you-are-making-the-most-of-here-before-you-get-to-there\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shine Where You Are: Making the Most of "Here" Before You Get to "There" - 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