“At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.” Thich Nhat Hahn

Last summer my husband and I went away for our anniversary. We went to White Mountains of New Hampshire for some camping and hiking. Mind you, my husband has hiked Appalachian Trail and his idea of a hike is far different than my idea of a hike.

He wanted to climb Moat Mountain, a two-mile climb with an elevation of 2800 feet. It was a ninety-degree day in August with about ninety percent humidity, otherwise a perfect day for a hike.

What heck I thought. Not my idea of a walk in park, yet I wanted to be with him. Part of my intention for our anniversary weekend was to do things he liked to do. I began to climb. Very soon into hike it was clear that I was not having a good time. I was exhausted and it was dangerously hot. He kept asking me if I wanted to turn back and I stubbornly continued.

On and on I hiked. I told him he could go on ahead and I would take it slow. I crawled under bushes to catch any glimpse of shade I could find to catch my breath. I was determined to make it to top to prove to him and myself I could do it. Big mistake. A quarter of a mile from top my body would go no further. I limped my way down mountain and wound up with heat stroke and spent rest of our vacation recovering.

What this powerful experience taught me is to listen. Listen to my inner wisdom; listen to messages of my body and pay attention to what’s really happening. I knew there was no way I could make it up that mountain in ninety-degree heat and furthermore I really didn’t want to. I wanted to prove something and I disregarded my own inner wisdom.

Have you ever wondered why you don’t listen?

Often we accept consensus opinion of majority as truth. We accept what others say or do as way things are. We accept things way they appear to be instead of taking action to make them way we want them to be. If you think "business is always slow in summer", "My manager never listens to me", "Nobody can find a good apartment fast in this market." These are false ideas you have accepted as truth. If you accept these "false truths" as fact you sabotages you ability to get what you want, you put up invisible roadblocks between you and your goals.

As you move through your life start to notice what "false truths" come out of your mouth. There may have been times when it seemed easier to come up with a "false truth" than create a solution. It may have been easier to say "there are no good jobs out there" than to go out and find one, easier to say "there is no way I could win that photo contest" than to enter. It is easier to say "she won't be interested in my product or service" than to approach your potential prospect. While it might seem easier in moment to accept "false truths", it doesn't move your life forward. That makes everything harder.

When you make a commitment to not accepting things way they are and you begin to take action, you knock down road blocks that have been holding you back you build self respect, self confidence and you create momentum for your life.

Ask yourself what you might be accepting as "it is just way it is?"

Some years ago I was sitting around a kitchen table one Saturday night with eight of my beautiful, successful, dynamic, single girlfriends. Somebody started complaining about fact that there's no straight single men in San Francisco, then someone else chimed in and another and another - it turned into a major Kvetching session and I started to get depressed.

I decided to not accept this "false truth" and instead I took action. I called a friend who was very proactive by nature. We placed a personal ad that said:

Renaissance Men Wanted Young, hot, successful, professional women interested in arts, music, politics, culture, looking to meet men for a cocktail party.