Paper Walls

"Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail" 1963)

Today we celebrate the birth of civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who lost his life in 1968 at age 39. In the quotation above, Dr. King reminds us of the importance of using our precious time wisely (or "constructively," as he puts it).

King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" was addressed to a group of white Christian leaders who were in favor of racial equality and civil rights. But these well-intentioned people had urged King to be patient, saying it takes time for social change to occur and that it may take many years or many decades. Their attitude prompted King's remarks about proactivity. All of us can heed the lesson in King's wise words: our time can be spent destructively or constructively.

Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts: it's called "Your Move" by Andy Stanley. This particular episode was discussing the idea of "paper walls" and how what we sometimes view as a "wall" that's standing in our way and preventing us from achieving our goals is actually just a "paper" wall or imaginary obstacle. It's not a real hindrance. In other words, these "walls" we imagine in our minds are really just "excuses," justifications for us to procrastinate or avoid doing what we know we should be doing or what we've always dreamed of doing to make our lives better (as well as the lives of those around us).

Maybe it's something as simple as wanting to share a suggestion in a meeting at work. It's very common for us to struggle with what psychologists call "limiting beliefs," which hold us back. We tell ourselves that no one will like our idea or suggestion, so why bother sharing it? Or if they do like the idea, nobody will ever get around to actually implementing our suggestion, so nothing will ever change.

Imagine if leaders like Dr. King had allowed limiting beliefs to hold them back from taking action. Where would we be today?

No one, not even the greatest leaders in history, has been immune from self-doubt. Yet they didn't let their doubts or excuses (paper walls) keep them from taking action.

We are midway through the first month of this new year, and the list of annual goals you made is probably still on the refrigerator or on a sticky note somewhere. Now is the time to take action! Think "small steps" day by day to move closer to your goals. Try focusing on even one goal and asking, "What's the first step I can take today to start moving a bit closer to reaching this goal?" And then take that step!

See the "paper walls" you've constructed in your mind for what they are — excuses rather than obstacles — and then walk through them!