Change Of Address

photo credit:  WorthyOfEligance

The air is crisp.  Leaves are falling.  Snow is on the ground.  It’s the beginning of the end.  It’s a joyous time, a time to contemplate.  Contemplate what we are grateful for; what we have accomplished and what we have not.  A time to wrestle with our demons and to wrestle with our future.  Whether it’s a renewed effort toward personal achievement or a promise to tackle that literal or figurative mountain, the holiday season heralds the beginning of the end of another year.

It is a time of reflection, reconnection and recommitment.  It’s a time for a change of address.  When you move, you can simply visit the USPS website, print out a change of address form and fill in the boxes.  Why?  Why do we take that step?  We want our mail delivered to the correct place.  We don’t want to miss anything.  We want to be informed and prepared.  Because it’s OUR stuff and we need to have it delivered to the right place.

No doubt our lives are a bit more complex than a USPS change of address form.  However, the reasons we need to make the time for reflection, reconnection and recommitment is no less simple:  We don’t want to miss anything.  It’s OUR life and we need to deliver in the right place.

Let’s look at that form for some clarity and direction…

First, we are instructed to PRINT in the correct color of ink – for readability and clarity.  Then, we are told our signature is REQUIRED.  We have to commit.  We have to say, “Yes!  THIS is what I want!”

Next, we identify if the move is for an individual, the whole family or for business.  If we ignore any one of these areas when we are looking to deliver our lives, things won’t work out as we desire. 

Then, we must answer the question, “Is this move temporary?”  Hmmm, what do you think?  Is this change of address something you can live with?  Or is it, by design, a temporary move?  Is this change something you are willing to go “all in” or is there doubt and obstacles that may make the move temporary?

After we fill in our full name, we have to print our old address, the place we are moving from.  What are we leaving behind?  What are we taking with us?  Where were our successes?  What do we want to use to build up the next location?  What were our failures?  What did we learn from them?  How can we leave them behind?

Next, our new address, where are we moving to?  This is our destination, not necessarily the final destination but we must know where we’re going so our mail gets delivered.   This is where our fears, doubts and past failures can derail us.  The “what if’s” come crawling out from under the rug, like turf monkeys, and trip us up.  What is our address?  The apartment number?  The new city?  The new state?  The zip code?  We must be crystal clear in our heads and we must be crystal clear on that paper. 

What will your change of address form look like for 2017?   Will you be seeking temporary housing?  Just a “get through” plan to move you to the next stage?  Or are you moving to a dorm, surrounded by other travelers at various stages of their journeys?  Are you moving on up to that five bedroom, three-and-a-half bath comfortable and permanent house on an acre of land.  A place to build, to grow, to prosper. 

No matter what your destination, if that change of address isn’t written in blue or black ink, if you forgot your signature at the end, if you were fuzzy on the street address or the zip code, you can be sure that you have a pretty small chance that your mail will get delivered and you just might miss out on something great.