Getting to the Root Cause

I have a small garden at home, part herb, part flowering plants.

I also have created a rock garden of sorts with jump up and kiss me and cacti along a tiny area just to the side of the steps leading to the front entrance of my house.

With the rainy season finally here, and horrible neglect, my little rock garden was filled with weeds. MASSIVE weeds. 

After sitting and looking at it  and THINKING about weeding for a couple weeks, I finally got started on my mini project. I would uproot everything, take out the pieces of jump up and kiss me and replant. 

One particular clump of grass was giving a lot of trouble to take out even though the area that I'm talking about has only about five inches of soil... max!. I didn't want to just remove what was visible - I wanted to get to the root. After several attempts I finally felt as if I was making headway. As pulled from the base of the clump of grass, an entire mat of soil lifted as well, allowing me to see the bare concrete below.

Let me explain: the roots of this clump of grass had spread laterally, six inches on either side from its centre, so intricately between the soil particles that it held the soil together, completely intact - resembling a mat!

I was really surprised how extensive the root network had grown but then this is what happens when we neglect our gardens. Weeds take over and the longer you take to remove the weeds the more deeply the roots grow. Making it more difficult to get to the root and remove it completely.

If you've ever wondered why you haven't been able to create lasting change in your life - then hopefully my gardening experience will help you to see what is happening more clearly. 

Chances are that you're not getting to the root cause of what is preventing your transformation and until you do (which sometimes requires digging diligently over time)  - the weeds in your life are going to grow right back. 

We have an inherent tendency to take the path of least resistance - what you might describe as our innate laziness. 

Steven Scott, author and billion dollar business man says "Few of us view ourselves as lazy. But the truth is, we ALL have the seeds of laziness within our nature. And if they are not dealt with, they will grow into a field that will undermine one or more aspects of our  lives."

In other words - left unattended our bad habits will choke the potential from our lives. 

One of my tendencies is to want to skim - get to the good part - I don't want to go through a tedious learning curve. I want it now. 

You know what I'm talking about - instant gratification: we want as much as we could get, as fast as we could get it, with as little effort as possible. 

This is why we're attracted to people who look successful on the surface offering "get rich quick, lose weight fast" schemes - that sound too good to be true because they are! :)

If you want to experience success in your life you're going to have to do the work. 

Diligence is that one skill that we need if we want to see true transformation.

Here are four steps that I'm following right now that might be helpful as you bring diligence into your life:

1. Wake up to reality - we may not have as much time as we think to achieve those things we say we want to achieve. The time to take action is NOW!
2. Define your vision 
3. Effectively partner with someone who can be your mirror and guide you going forward. 
4. Pursue wisdom - seek your truth. Don't take someone else's word over your own regarding your life. Know what is true for you - understand yourself better and truly unearth your unique talents and gifts so that you can more confidently share them with others.