Think Like A Gardener

Have you ever observed a gardener plant a garden?

I don’t mean a vegetable or herb garden.  I mean a landscaped garden.  A peaceful place to walk and enjoy the beautiful wildlife.

When a gardener plants trees, shrubs, and flowers, they have to think years ahead. If they only designed their gardens for what they look like now, the plants would quickly overwhelm each other as they grow.  They would compete for root space and nutrients from the soil and would choke each other out and die.

Gardeners need to have a vision beyond the immediate moment.  They need to imagine what the garden will look like a year, two years, and ten years down the road.  They then plant and organize their garden accordingly so that it will best be able to grow into what they envision. What looks like a sunny area now, might be a relaxing shady space in a few years.

A gardener knows they won’t see the true beauty of the garden until it has time to grow and mature.  

You must plan your life the same way.

You must have a vision beyond today.  

You need to be able to see how your hard work now will pay off in the future.  You must also avoid giving up just because you cannot yet see the fruits of your labors.

So many in modern society have become so addicted to immediate gratification that they give up at the first sign of difficulty.

This is why you:

-Stop exercising after 2 weeks

-Give up when you relapse once

-Quit on a business when you don’t make money immediately

You can’t get past the difficulty of the immediate moment to see the payoff down the road.  All you see is a dry patch of dirt instead of the beautiful plant that will be there in time.  

Things that are truly worth doing take time to see results.

There’s no such thing as overnight success.  Some things may take off overnight, but I guarantee there were months of work leading up to it.

Today, it might seem like you’ll never get there.  You may feel like giving up.  You may feel like you’ve given everything you have to offer and have nothing to show for it.  I understand.  I’ve felt the same way.  But those moments are the moments where you must press on.  

When it comes to breaking free from addiction, it can take YEARS to be completely free.  You need to keep fighting day after day, week after week, and month after month to see real progress.

Setbacks are going to happen.  You will face hardships.  Things will get worse before they get better.  It will seem like you’ll never, ever reach your goal.

If you give up at the first sign of difficulty, you guarantee you will never reach your goals.

But, if you keep pressing on.  If you keep watering the plants, pulling the weeds, and trimming the branches, one day you will look out and see a beautiful garden that you can enjoy.

Think like a gardener.   Think beyond today.  Plan out what you want your life to look like years from now.  Then work backwards and do what you need to do today to ensure you create the life you envisioned.  

Don’t give up when all you see is a patch of dirt.

Don’t give up when it seems like it hasn’t rained in months.

Don’t give up when a storm comes and batters you down.

Keep fighting.  What you’re experiencing now will only make your roots stronger in the end.  

If you can press on through the difficulties of today, you can enjoy the rewards of freedom later.  One day you’ll look back on the hard days and be glad that you pushed through.  You’ll have won the battle, and you’ll be better off having fought through the hardships to get there.

Always think like a gardener.  Look beyond today at what your work will achieve tomorrow. 

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