“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans—the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”

W.H. Murray
Scottish Himalayan Expedition

There are people who would have you believe that positive thinking will make all your dreams come true. There are enough self-help books pushing that message to sink a container ship.

The theory is great, but translating theory into practice rarely shows you where the potholes are. And just thinking it doesn’t make things happen. You have to choose. You have to act. You have to work at it.

What gets you through is the commitment. Not hanging on out of pride, but the knowledge that not everything will go according to plan, that there will be setbacks and mistakes, and that is precisely the way things are supposed to unfold. You stumble, you learn, you move forward. Or sideways. Or say, “Damn, this isn’t what I want to do at all,” and have the courage to admit it and dig into what really makes your engine run.

Providence, however you choose to define it, moves when we decide.