Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about a quote I shared on Instagram earlier this week. I am often so inspired by quotes, so I like to share them with you and chat in more detail about what it means to me. The quote is from Vincent Van Gogh and says, “If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is grass in the beginning.”

I was curious as to whether Van Gogh actually said this quote, or where it originated. As is common on the internet, there were conflicting beliefs about whether this was a Van Gogh quote, but the most common information I saw was that it was from a letter he sent to his brother Theo where he was predicting that he, like many other artists, may become famous after death. I’m not sure the timeline of when Van Gogh’s work became popular, but I can assure you that he painted a lot of artwork that was not of notable importance. It reminded me that becoming successful takes time. Yes, there are a few who experience overnight success, but for a majority of people success takes trial and error, hard work, consistency, and time.

I think this idea that success takes time is not popular. We live in a time where everything is fast, easy to acquire, right at our fingertips. We can find information easily, communicate with others quickly even if they live across the country or across the world, and buy things with one click. We must accept that success is something  worth working towards. We must accept that we will have to put in the hard work consistently to get to where we want to be. It usually does not happen overnight.

Oftentimes, when we see someone who is experiencing success in their lives, we see the success – where they are now. But we don’t see what it took to get there. It’s a process. We see the wheat, but we did not see the stage where they looked like grass. Even in those earlier stages where they had failures and setbacks, they still were on that trajectory to becoming wheat! The difficult part is we never know how long that path of failures, set backs, and learning will take. And I think so often even when we reach success, we are still looking for something more. Many of us have that “what now” feeling when we have achieved a milestone or goal.

Because it is human nature to look towards the next achievement, it is important to learn to be at peace with where you are. Believe me, I know how hard this can be. I still sometimes struggle with this, looking towards the future instead of just enjoying where I am now. As I look back at my life, I do think I wished some of my life away waiting for the next stage. Finding peace in your current stage of life can happen when you stop resisting where you are. Name the stage you are in. Is this a season of building, healing, transitioning, grieving, growing, or resting? Sometimes naming the stage gives you more grace with yourself to lean into this chapter. Letting go of the “shoulds” – like “I should be further along” or “I should be doing more” – will help you to be more grounded in your stage of life.

As I often share, being present in life is so important. There are many practices that can anchor you to the present. Having healthy routines will help you to stay grounded, like mindfulness or meditation, journaling, exercise, eating healthy, and keeping a regular sleep schedule. All of these things can help you to live in the moment. 

Often when we feel unrest it is because we are trying to control our circumstances. If we can shift our focus from control to curiosity, that will help us to feel more at peace. Instead of trying to problem solve, or just ruminate on how to get out of this stage, ask yourself what this stage is trying to teach you or what are you learning about yourself in this stage. When you shift to curiosity, once again it makes space for grace for yourself in this season. Also, honor your pace. Quit looking at what others are doing and recognize that we are all on our own journey, and that is okay!