I love Christmas. The year we had a 9 month old at home, work was keeping me and my sweetheart very busy, so I decided to get a small tabletop Christmas tree instead of a full tree like we usually do. That would keep things simple. Less decorating time, easier to keep the baby out of, fewer pine needles to keep boyo from ingesting.
But then I got to the Christmas tree lot. I saw this big, beautiful Douglas fir. It smelled so good. It was tall and gorgeous and not at all what I had planned on getting, but I bought it. It wouldn’t even fit in my car because of the baby’s car seat (I tried; poor kid), and I didn’t have any rope to tie it to the top of the car with because I had planned on buying a mini-tree. I took boyo home and went back to get the tree without him.
Why did I come home with the biggest tree we’ve ever had instead of getting a mini-tree like we’d planned?
Because this is it.
“This is it” is a thought I have a lot. I hoped that I would have many many many more Christmases with boyo, but I didn’t have that guarantee. I didn’t get that enormous tree because I’m impulsive or throw money around. I got that tree because I knew that that might be my only chance to share the magic of a Christmas tree with my sweet boyo.
The next summer I took him to the fair. At age 18 months, all he could do was the petting zoo. But I really wanted to take him to the fair. I could have waited until the next year, but this is it.
I made his Halloween costume last year. I didn’t really have time to be glueing felt feathers to a shirt to transform him into the world’s cutest owl, but this is it.
I hosted Thanksgiving at my house last year, because this is it.
I’m putting everything I have into my business, because this is it.
I’m passing up on some opportunities that look impressive so I can do other things I want to do more, because this is it.
What are the things you can’t stand to think of doing without?
Write the letter; this is it.
Make the call; this is it.
Take this risk; this is it.
You might get another chance, but you might not.
This is it. This is it. This is it.
Laura Simms is the Founder of Your Career Homecoming and a Certified Equity-Centered Coach (IECC) with 15 years of experience guiding high-achievers through meaningful career transitions. She has helped over 400 professionals choose careers with both meaning and money, and her clients have come and gone from places like Google, OWN, NPR, Fortune 500 companies, the FBI, Broadway, and HarperCollins. As the pioneer of the WHOLE Method—a holistic career change strategy—Laura brings a unique approach that integrates purpose with practicality. Her expertise has been featured in US News & World Report. She holds degrees from Furman University and The University of California, Irvine, and has taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Based in Atlanta, Laura enjoys thrifting, interior design, and walks in the woods.
