Compost that Shizzle

The concept of turning literal shit into something beautiful happens every day in nature. Think of your problems as a hot steaming pile of pony poop in the middle of your climb up the mountain of personal fulfillment. It stinks, it’s in your way, and you don’t want to touch it. But you have some choices. On the one hand, you could stand there stuck and complain about how bad it smells, worry about what bacterial dangers lurk within, and fixate on how much better your life would be if only it wasn’t there, etc. There is some payoff. You now have an excuse to stop exerting yourself with the climb. You can finally sit down and rest, even if it’s right next to a pile of poop. 

Alternatively, you could get a pitchfork and scratch that poop into the dirt, spreading it through the soil around you, letting it work its way into the earth. That's work, though, so you have to be willing to do extra work and get a little bit dirty for the promise of only a modest immediate reward. The benefits: in the short term you will have cleared the path, invigorated yourself with the effort, and you will be able to now keep on walking toward your goals. But the big reward comes later. Over time that once stinky pile of waste becomes food for worms and other decomposers who deliver back into the earth a potent dose of nutrients that find their way to feed the seeds of your deep-buried dreams. Sprouts and buds pop up all around you bolstering your faith that bigger and better things will come, and this puts a new spring in your step. Before you know it your life is growing stronger and blooming brighter than it ever would have if that pony had never pooped in your path in the first place.

Struggle is essential to growth. Rarely do we get the opportunity to work at our highest frequency, under perfect circumstances, and surrounded by our biggest fans. If we are lucky enough to get on a comfortable streak, it’s great for a while. But when that kind of comfort persists for too long we tend to get complacent, lose our spark, and dissolve right back into discomfort. You can’t hide from hard times.

So if your vision is cloudy, your doubts are clear, and it feels like the world is conspiring against you, it may seem counterintuitive, but these are perfect conditions for moving toward your goals. This is the grind that makes you sharp. You don’t need to wait for better weather, more money, a more supportive partner, etc. The time to set your sights on your best life is now.