Time to Get Your Zesty On: The Power of Committing

timetogetcommitted

O, the dithering.
The wondering.

The choir in my head singing yeah-buts and what-ifs in four-part harmony.  Shall I hum a few bars for you?  I’ll bet you know it:  “Don’t have enough time for this…Don’t have enough money…Don’t have it all figured out…My ideas are crummy….” And on it went.

Until the day I simply chose.

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It was October 30, 2009 –  the eve of Halloween, when we’re given permission to be any outrageous dang thing we want, and then we’re rewarded with candy.  Boyfriend and I were tooling along the highway headed toward Iowa to visit my mother for the weekend.  And at some point during that drive, I chose to forge ahead with the time I have.  The money I have.  The ideas I have.  I chose not to re-think and analyze everything a thousand different ways.  You could say I chose to make some mistakes in the interest of making something happen.

On that day, Zesty Artista was born. Because I said so.  I turned to Boyfriend and announced, “I’m doing it.”

All right then,” he said. “That’s good.”  (Insert devilishly handsome smile here.)

And in that moment, life altered.

What I accomplished in the next week astonished me.  Zesty Artista became an entity recognized by the State of Missouri.  Zesty Artista got her very own tax ID.  Then came the city business license.  The bank account with its tiny-but-mighty seed money.  And lo and behold, a debit card with the Zesty Artista moniker on it.   I called an incredibly talented graphic designer friend and asked her to design my logo and web site, and then she enlisted the services of yet another amazing woman to pull all the levers and dials to get the pretty stuff safely launched into cyberspace.

There have been so many creative decisions to make, so many opportunities to revert to analysis paralysis.  But once things are set in motion, there are deadlines, and promises to keep, and you just take a small step…and then another…until suddenly you look up, and you’re in a whole different place.

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Will there be decisions I make that I’ll regret?  Sure. Are some of the initial roads I go down going to turn into dead ends? Probably.  Will this involve late nights and weekends of work while ignoring the dust bunnies and unfolded laundry taking over my house?  Already happening.  But who cares?

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I’m on the road, baby.  I’ve got the top down, and the wind is whippin’ my hair around and the music’s turned up way loud and I’ve got big love in my life and I’m excited.

So, my friend, I ask you this: What’s the thing that’s gnawing at you, wanting to happen?  Where are you dithering when you could be driving?  What makes your heart beat faster, makes you a little nervous, gives you that thrilling little zing?

Perhaps it’s time to get behind the wheel and just go…time to get your zesty on. You get to say.

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And so I raise a virtual glass of bubbly in honor of the Zesty Artista in us all – the wild, bold creative spirit with its infinite array of expressions.  And as my toast, I offer this quotation, which is right up there amongst my all-time-favorites and never fails to stir me deep down where I live.  Thank you for sharing this moment with me.

time6

 

Until Committed
…Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which
kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
that would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents
and meetings and material assistance
which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do,
or dream you can,
begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
- W. H. Murray
from The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Until Committed

…Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,

the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),

there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which

kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

that the moment one definitely commits oneself,

then providence moves, too.

All sorts of things occur to help one

that would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision,

raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents

and meetings and material assistance

which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.

I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do,

or dream you can,

begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

- W. H. Murray
from The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Here’s to the genius, power and magic in us all.

Live lusciously.

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3 Responses to “Time to Get Your Zesty On: The Power of Committing”

  1. Gis Lange says:

    Well that is zesty Artista!!!! What more could I say….and the road ahead is a fine one, sometime a crummy one….smooth riding and suddenly bumpy….such is life…an experience not to be missed…but to notice what turns up in conversation….beware to relate to it as the truth..it’s not out there…! Creation at the highest level. When you think you can’t, can, when you think don’t do–it takes courage for sure–patience, and trusting that this life is FOR YOU! Loads of love….and inspiration, beauty and all that YOU WANT….Gis

  2. Deb Beroset says:

    Thanks so much for your lovely message. And thanks for sharing the ride!

  3. stuart says:

    I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing

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