One of my biggest thrills when it comes to my relationships with other people is trust. The trust with which I give them, and more times than not, receive in return.

Many of these interactions have happened with total strangers. Whether it’s accurate or not, I view opening a door for someone a form of trust. I trust that they will respond accordingly by saying “Thank you.” Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. But that doesn’t stop me from doing it over and over again. Even buying someone’s coffee behind you in the drive-thru at Starbucks I see as an opportunity for that person to take that trust and reciprocate accordingly.

But, the deepest fulfillment for me is my close relationships in which the trust we have with each other runs deep and is always present. This is when you can skip the small talk and tackle deep issues between you bringing you closer with every new conversation. With that, the foundation of trust is only bolstered.

Over the years, I’ve come to learn that the world isn’t going to slow down for me no matter what. The good news is it doesn’t slow down for anyone. It wasn’t just me. Call me a slow learner, but I used to wish for blocks of time – days even – when I could ponder over the elements of my next project I was taking on or obstacle I faced, while the world waited patiently on pause for my reply. Uhhhh, yeah.

Here’s what I learned: Go!

As I’ve said before and I do subscribe to even today; the details are in the doing. Not the pontificating of doing. Doing. Go. Get started. Get going. It’s going to be messy, chaotic – even ugly at times. Such is life.

We can adjust our methods along the way. If we don’t get the results we’re looking for then we can build it different the next time. If a more effective strategy presents itself with less time, then we’ll implement it on the next go around. But let’s keep moving our feet.

What if the speed with which we respond and create a “less-than” perfect product or service is more important than taking the time to perfect them before releasing them to the public?

Sometimes I need to be around upbeat, positive and creative people. Other times, I’m yearning for some peace and quiet by myself in order to give my mind some space to wander. And yet there are other times when I’m longing for some one on one time with my wife.

The older I get the more clear to me what it is that I need in order to strike balance in my life. This includes diet, exercise, socializing, deep thinking and creating. For this I’m grateful.

Knowing what one needs in order to get clarity, rejuvenate oneself, rest or knowing how to put yourself in an environment where you can create and/or problem solve is priceless.

And the only way to find that out is by experimenting. I’m pretty sure it’s not by death-scrolling on social media.

Can we be okay with where we are in this moment? Knowing the endless lists that need to be addressed. Can we allow all of our future expectations, fears and past mistakes to pass – to dissolve and just embrace this moment for what it is? I think so.

It may take a bit of mental work – or maybe it’s just as easy as making a decision to let go. It could be as easy as having the self-awareness to realize nothing is ever going to be perfect in our lives. That’s part of of it.

The truth is there is nothing binding us to our past mistakes no more than we are bound to unresolved conversations or projects in the future. We have the power within us to cut ourselves free from the guilt of unattained goals and frustration and anxiety that comes with future plans.

We may be EXACTLY where we need to be in this moment. And if we’re not, telling ourselves as much may not be a bad idea either. Because the truth is this: we ARE EXACTLY where we need to be. Why? Because that’s where we are and hoping/wishing to be somewhere else only makes us anxious.

Sam Harris has a wonderful metaphor about how to handle where we are mentally and emotionally when the waves of life crash around us. We can either be in the “strike zone” or we can choose to move into a position where the wave moves under us with little to know damage to ourselves.

This is such a great lesson for allowing our thoughts and emotions to not get the best of us by choosing our perspective of the situation.

We can choose to put ourselves in a position where we’re going to feel the impact or we can choose otherwise.

But ultimately, it’s up to us.