Sometimes the road ahead seems shrouded in mist.
We know what our goals are; we struggle to achieve them despite the endless details that clutter our lives; and we think we’re managing.
But then something catches us off guard and we lose sight, for awhile, of the goals ahead.
Tax time is one of those obstacles that seemingly grabs out at me every year. I’m not sure why this very regular annual event seems to be such a source of anxiety. I wrote about it yesterday over at my Hump Day Potpourri post.
Well, that’s not quite accurate…I do know why. It started the year that I was blindsided by a rather substantial extra tax liability. It seemingly came out of nowhere, although, as it turns out, I should have realized. But I’d been wearing blinders, hoping that, if I didn’t study the issue too closely, it would go away.
On the advice of my accountant, I made arrangements to have extra money deducted every month that should make this issue null and void. And that worked. So why the anxiety?
Perhaps it’s like that whole childhood thing about the Bogey Man. He appears in the dark, unexpectedly, preying upon his victims. And nothing we do makes him disappear.
As an adult, I know that if we take the appropriate measures, deal with the details, if you will, we can avoid the unexpected. We are not children, nor are we bound by the childhood bugaboos that threatened us then.
Despite my logical self talk, however, the issues sometimes present themselves in my dreams, cloaked in frightening images, terrorizing me and revealing themselves in the light of day as that same old Anxiety.
Perhaps I should take up yoga. I know that meditation is supposed to help us clarify, focus, and banish the anxieties we sometimes carry with us.
What do you do? Is there anything that works for you, helping you focus and zero in our your goals? Smart weapons to help banish that old Bogey Man?
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