Expect to Succeed or Fail -- and You Will

Hiya,

Rough start to the week for me.  Spent at least half of the weekend finishing up my Tarot Booth frame (it's done!  Finally!) outside in the back yard.

Needs a little paint and the top/back fabric

 Unforuntately, this is prime Grade-A allergy season in South Texas and it slammed me hard yesterday.  Had a rough night Sunday, spent Monday recovering.  Back in the saddle again today, though.  Ready to get to it, but am a day behind everything!

Planning to do some sewing this week for the top and back of the Tarot Booth.  I'm going to add some thin PVC pipes on the top to make a "bow" -- hoping that will direct rain off to the sides rather than pooling on the top fabric.  Will see how that works out!  (I really don't know what I'm doing; am just making it up as I go along!)

Ready for a reading to start this week?  We'll again draw two cards -- the first offers a suggestion for us to think about, the second offers ways we can best realize the positive message of that first card.

Our first card is -- the Eight of Pentacles.

This is a fun card; it's message is very similar to that of the Three of Pentacles.  Have you ever become so involved in a project that time seems to fly by?  Maybe you look up and realize you've missed lunch time -- or the school bus!  This can especially happen when you're involved in learning something new in a subject that fascinates you.

That's pretty much what this card suggests -- I call it the "Joy of Learning".  Sometimes we resist learning new skills or subjects -- it's going to take an effort, we don't have the time, we're worried we won't "get it", so on, so on.  For those times when we do take the plunge, we may be pleasingly surprised with an interesting subject and the mental or physical exercise.

Learning something new can be fun -- even if we're not that good at the subject (like me an my Jazz Guitar class!)  It's the gained knowledge we find absorbing.

Interestingly enough, this sort of effort can be envigorating.  Even though we spend energy in the learning process, it somehow gives back way more energy than we spend.

This is a good spot to be in -- so what's stopping us from going there?  Oh yes, I forgot.  "It's going to take an effort, I don't have the time, I'll probably not be any good at it, so on, so on".  It can be a pretty long list -- how do we get past it?

Well, let's look at our second card for tips -- the Seven of Swords.

Some folks think of this as a negative card -- but I always see it as extremely positive.  This Seven suggests taking on a challenge when everyone expects you to fail -- but you find a way to succeed in spite of that.  You don't worry about failure -- you go into the challenge expecting to be successful ... and then spend your efforts ensuring that you are successful.

How can this card benefit us?  Let's rewind a bit -- "It's going to take an effort, I don't have the time, I'll likely not be any good, so on, so on".  Translation is "I'm probably going to fail, so why try!"

If you go in expecting to fail, you probably will.  The trick is -- don't expect to fail.  I saw a roadside sign once, that said "Whether you expect to fail or expect to succeed, you probably will!"  It's your mindset at the beginning that dictates your end results.

The Seven of Swords doesn't recognize all the "reasons" ( ie, EXCUSES ) for failure -- he only sees the expectations for success.  This positive outlook makes challenges look like opportunities rather than roadblocks. 

That's how you want to go into challenges -- expect to be successful from the start.  It may be kind of hokey -- but it works!

That's it for now -- will catch you again before the weekend.

Woodsong