By Jonas Bergsten via Wikimedia
A fly clings to the screen as it stares outside at a world it longs for but cannot reach.
Goals feel like that at times. Seemingly beyond our reach because of fear or an inability to find a pathway there.
Immobilized by indecision, the fly twitches its wings in a desperate unease of confusion, then suddenly leaps into an erratic flight, looking for a way outside to the goal that seems unattainable.
In a Hail Mary flight, the fly zigzags around, bouncing from screen to screen.
Is the hole here? Is it there?
How did I get here? How do I get there?
It will take time and effort. But the fly doesn’t have time—a day is a lifetime for a fly, while we humans think we have all the time in the world.
Sometimes, the fly finds its way outside by chance, through a rip in the screen or an open door. Maybe it took a day of bouncing off walls and crawling along window sills for an opportunity to reveal itself, a moment of happenstance that led to a path outside.
Like the fly, we work toward our goals with instinct (luck), timing, and the ability to know how to capitalize on an opportunity accidentally found.
Will we follow up on an email an agent sent?
Will we contact the editor who responded to a post?
Will that positive comment instill us with confidence?
Sometimes reaching a goal can be as daunting as a trapped fly trying to escape from a porch, seeing opportunity through the crisscross of screens, seemingly tangible, yet miles away. It always appears farther than you think and can take years (or an eternity in fly time) to finally get there.
But if you give up because you are tired or afraid you can’t find your way to the goal that has impassioned you your entire life, then your dreams may end up dead on the floor, twitching in regret, like a fly that never finds its way outside.
Find a path to your goal and persist in getting there. The only regret we have in life is the paralysis of inaction from a lack of self-confidence and the fear of failing.
Don’t be that fly that ends up on the floor, on its back, staring at sunlight filtering through the screen, as its life twitches into oblivion. Be the fly that finds its way outside.
Yes, we humans do think we have all the time in the world. Sigh. Staying focused is much harder these days.
Nice read!
Beautifully written and very informative article. I really liked your writing style. Keep sharing.
Great post and interesting article as always Lauren. Thanks again for sharing.
Yes you are right, we humans not much give a thought about wasting of time. That’s why games like PUBG is so popular.
Fantastic article, Thanks for sharing your article.I Loved it
Really like this analogy and the idea that opportunity is often found by luck but also with a mixture of intuition. We’ve all been that fly
Thanks,
Keiran
The analogy is good, but I often feel like the “how” is the more difficult part of the equation. If we don’t know what to do (like the fly), how do we get to the other side? A lot of wing flapping in going on, but no progress is being made. Come to think of it, I can really relate to this!
Great article, love your writing ! I’ll take into account your advice. I just laught reading your last line. Sad for the fly and funny at the same time “Don’t be that fly that ends up on the floor….as its life twitches into oblivion.”
the hard-line” we humans think we have all the time in the world.” perfect example of inspiration. We lose hopes on smile negative things, as very think we humans are most intelligent in living species but many times nature has shown us a mirror. really great piece of though and the best example you have taken. Indeed nice.
Thanks for sharing.I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. Unlike other blogs I have read which are really not that good.
Thanks Again.
Think Spin, your blog is beautifully written, and is very useful and informative too. Thanks for serving these posts with us.
Great article, your writing style is amazing, you always come with a unique topic. Keep posting!