NickVenturella.com 11-27-23 - When life says try again

I hope all my US-based friends had a safe, relaxing and happy Thanksgiving holiday this past weekend.

I got to enjoy time with my family. It was good.

In the spirit of the holiday and reflecting on that for which we’re grateful, it made me also think of the future. I’m grateful for what’s brought me here, but where am I going?

I’m always trying to figure out how I want my life and career to unfold, but I never quite feel like I’m making it happen according to the vision in my head. Does this happen to you too? Hit reply and let me know.

As I gain more life experience I’m learning that almost nothing pans out like you think it will or should. This is where releasing yourself of too many expectations (something we’ve talked about previously) can be useful. Focusing less on expectations is causing me to let go more and think about how I want my life and career to pan out in terms of frameworks, rather than prescribed steps.

The truth is you don’t have things figured out. I don’t have things figured out. None of us do at any age. We just find our heading on the proverbial compass and start moving in that direction.

The secret I feel that has been revealing itself to me lately is that if you allow yourself to be open to the experiences that arise along your journey toward the destination you have in mind, you will likely have a far better experience getting there. Plus, you’ll more than likely end up at some better destination than you originally dreamed of.

This kind of abundance takes forethought in having gratitude for your current situation, and being humble enough to know you may never get what you’ve romanticized in your head. When you have those two things combined with no expectations (aka, the world owes you nothing) other than a general idea of the direction you’d like to move, you start to let go of the idea of making things (aka forcing them to) happen and begin to allow things to happen to and for you.

Allowing things to happen to you does not mean be a pushover and get taken advantage of. It means don’t try to will the life you want into existence. That typically doesn’t work, it’s  exhausting, and it will eventually burn you out to force you into a state of humility and humbleness requiring you to be more open anyway. That’s how the game of life informs you that you’ve traveled down the wrong path and you must try again. 

I absolutely don’t have things figured out. These days I’m just trying to find my heading and move in that direction. I’m grateful for you and everyone we meet on this journey. It’s your journey alone, but you never have to travel alone.

--------------------------------------------------UpdatesThis is the last week to see some of my upcycled artistic guitars hanging on display at Imaginarytea.shop in Waunakee, WI. Thank you Karl for allowing me to hang my art in your shop! Be sure to stop by and check out the exhibit. All guitars on display are available for sale. ----------I have a sale running right now on all of my music-inspired digital collage/illustration 2D visual artwork canvas prints. They make a great gift for the music-lover in your life.  Available in my Etsy shop.This one is called, "Super Strat Guitar." ----------Songwriters Round Town​(a songwriters in the round series)Sat. Dec. 9, 2023 at Imaginary Tea Waunakee, WI7-9pmThis is an all-ages creative experience where curated songwriters share their stories behind the songs they've written and invite the audience to participate in the conversation in between the music.Be sure to come and join. 

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Stay positive. Stay healthy. Be kind.Sincerely,Nick VenturellaStrategic/Creative ProfessionalNickVenturella.com