I came home from a weekend out of town this past Friday, and as I was pulling into my driveway I couldn’t keep my eyes off the front lawn. It was long, appeared unkept, and had a nice canopy of yellow dandelions starting to poke through.
Now, I can appreciate a clean lawn just as much as the next guy. But the burning desire to keep the grass consistently tight is something I never really feel.
But trust me when I tell you, this was bad!
For whatever reason the front lawn decided to grow an aggressive amount in the 3 days my family and I were out of town. And at this moment, it drove me nuts. The desire to cut the grass came over me quickly, pretty much taking my full attention.
As we walked through the front door with our weekend bags, I told myself I was going to cut the grass after I got the family all settled in and unpacked. – Well, after we brought everything in and put it away, I simply sat my “give me 20mins to unwind” ass down. Grabbed my phone and watched some mindless YouTube shorts.
With the thought of wanting to cut the grass still burning in the back of my mind.
20 minutes came and went. And my ass was still sitting there. I was well past the point of needing to unwind, and was starting to move into the zone of a let’s have Netflix going in the background, while I continue to scroll.
Well, the next morning came. And as my coffee was brewing, I went to go open the curtains and noticed that it was pissing rain. And guess what my first reaction was. “Shit, I wanted to cut the grass this morning”. – Oh well, I guess it can wait until later today.
Later that day came, and it was still raining…
The next day, still raining…
Now its not like I was shaking back and forth riddled with anxiety while I watched my front lawn mock me, but I was feeling a type of way. – Maybe a good word for it, is shame!?
The unkept grass felt like a constant reminder of what I have not done yet, even though I so badly had the urge to do it just days earlier,. When the sun was shining.
And to add insult to injury, it is not even like the lawn is big. It would have only taken 10minutes for me to complete.
3 days later, the sun with all its glory, came peaking through the clouds. So doing what I should have done days earlier. I put my headphones on, cranked the lawnmower until it turned over, and cut the grass.
And then 10mins later it was done…
This story isn’t to out myself as a lazy prick, procrastination can happen to the best of us. – No, I wanted to share this story because I believe it is a simple story with a good metaphor.
“Don’t wait to cut your grass, because tomorrow you may not have the chance to.”
So many times in our lives we get this urge to act, and we just don’t. This feeling of needing to take action can come over you at any moment, having you think about the most random, or obvious, areas of your life.
For instance, the feeling of wanting to reach out to a friend you have not spoken to in 15 years while you wait at a red light. Or, maybe you’re walking the dog and start feeling the desire to read the book that’s been sitting around your room for the last 7months.
These urges can be called “Random urges”
But sometimes this feeling can come at the most seemingly obvious moments. Like if you were at a restaurant and you see a waitress spill her tray. You may get this
absolute desire to help. Or maybe there is an event you support coming up, and you have this urge to go volunteer your time.
These urges can be called “Obvious Urges”
Hell, what ever it is, and when ever it comes to you, this is a feeling most of you reading right now are familiar with. It takes over your mind and body, and for some reason it just feels like the right thing to do. And regardless if these sudden urges are random or obvious, they many times are likely pushing you down the right road!
So why then, do so many of us ignore this feeling?
Why is it that when we get the urge to act upon something, no matter the size or effort required, we so easily and quickly fight against it? – Usually with some sort of reasoning that we consider justifiable.
Like the feeling of pushing off a 10minute task, because of the “need” to relax with some meme’s and Netflix.
Here, I will give you a quick example not lawn related. Back in 1975, photography giant Kodak created the first digital camera as part of their innovation efforts. Not being able to see the future, they quickly made a mistake and second guessed their innovation. They doubted their new technology and feared that the roll out of their digital camera would interrupt sales for their most sold product, the film that was required to take photos at the time.
And just like the rainy days that kept me from cutting my grass, Kodaks rainy days came, and they were eventually beat out by the competition specializing in the digital market, leading to their bankruptcy in 2012.
Now, if the people at Kodak, took a moment and asked themselves, “what was the desire for us to develop this technology anyways?” They very well may have seen and heard the signs of the changing world and how it was capturing memories. – But instead, they provided a justification on why taking the next step on what started as an urge to provide new value, was not a good idea.
Now I know that cutting grass and a company going bankrupt are not remotely close to playing in the same sandbox when regarding outcomes. But there are levels to this, and when you start listening and acting on these urges, no matter how small they seem at the start.
They will eventually lead you down a path of being able to make better decisions, regardless the size of the situation.
Before we go any further, I want to make something clear. I am not saying that every urge you get should be acted upon. No, that would just lead to a world of people fucking, fighting, and eating for no other reason then they felt like it.
What I am trying to say, is that there are many moments in our life when a feeling can evoke us. Making us feel the sudden urge to act on a decision that we didn’t even know was available moments before. – These urges show us the hidden crossroads in our lives that surround us at any given moment.
The best part, these urges will almost always show you the correct path. But, the power to act is up to you…
The power of acting upon your free will, to make what you feel is the right decision, is what this all boils down to. – But in order to make the choice, you first must hear the call.
And if you constantly ignore the calls that are coming to you, by not taking action, or flat out isolating yourself from hearing them. Then you will never recognize them when it matters the most.
Most of our lives are made up from a series of decisions we made, and where we end up in the future will almost certainly be a result of the decisions we make today. – So, if we have the opportunity to take advantage of a decision that is being presented to us, we should do our best to not waste it.
What I know for certain is that these urges are often opportunities to act. They could be opportunities to step out of our comfort zone, or develop a lifelong relationship. Maybe the urge hits you and you have the opportunity to complete a task and cross something off your to do list, giving you some piece from mind.
Or maybe the urge you get to check in with an old friend is acted upon, becoming the first step in changing the entire trajectory of ones day.
Once you open yourself up to not only listening to these urges, but acting upon them, you start to see them everywhere. You will start to understand what it is you are being called to. – In a spiritual lens they call these urges “angel signs”.
The idea behind the angel signs are that you will be provided situations in life that will give you this urge to act, and only through this action will you start to unravel what your higher purpose is here on earth.
I truly feel that when these urges to act rush over you, they should be acted on. If the universe, or a higher power, was trying to coach you down a path of betterment, I really think it would come in the way of showing you the opportunities you have in your day-to-day life.
If you listen and act upon these feelings it very well could lead you down a road were your existence feels more connected to the world around you. When you listen and act on these urges enough times you eventually start to see and hear them everywhere.
But the big question is, what does it cost you if you ignore these urges? – Maybe nothing, maybe you just keep living the way you always have and are destined to.
But… Maybe it costs you everything. Maybe ignoring these calls to action is costing you a life that you could only imagine. – When you have the urge to act on something, but decide not to, this will leave you with the uneasy feeling of not knowing.
The feeling of uncertainty is something most humans do not do well with. And there is nothing more annoying to the human self than giving a bullshit justification for an action you did not take, even though you know you should have. We usually fill the cracks of these justifications with an emotional confirmation. – Fear, anger, resentment, etc…
Kind of like the thoughts you have when you are in the shower. You know the thoughts, there the ones that have you replaying moments in your life, acting out situations of what you would have done, or would have said if only given the moment.
All while standing under a stream of hot water. And let me tell you something, the water will never get hot enough to wash off the feelings of not taking action on what you know you should have done.
Sometimes these memories of not taking action will come creeping to you at nighttime, having you tossing and turning in bed. Thinking about all the time you stood still. All the moments you missed by simply telling yourself “not now”. – These moments often have people not defending their lack of action but grieving it.
Before I finish this up, I wanted to ensure that I provide anyone who has made it this far, 5 simple steps to not only hear these calls but also how to act on them when they come calling
Here are 4 simple steps to start acting upon these urges that keep calling you.
- Be open to the call. – Allow yourself to be open to these calls, remind yourself frequently that there are opportunities in your life and you are ready to be open to them.
- Acknowledge the call. – No matter the size, if you have the urge to cut the grass, open the door, call a family member, go see a movie alone. What ever it is, acknowledge that this urge to act has come to you.
- Take immediate action. – This is simple, do not wait! Once you acknowledge it, respect your acknowledgement and do what you need to do to take the 1st step.
- Say thanks and move on. – Be grateful for the ability to act, give yourself a moment to take it in, say thanks and move on.
In a life that at the best of times can be confusing, and at the worst of times feel purposeless. It is so incredibly important to take advantage of those moments that not only seem fundamentally right, but also provide value. – These urges are a simple but beautiful gift, getting into the habit of recognizing them is a skill that will compound great amounts through mind, body, and soul.
From one proud human to another, Cheers!