It is a real cliché but I think it is a very important truism.  “Never doubt in the dark what was true in the light.”
Why that one means a lot to me is that sometimes I am inclined to let feelings take over.  I do not necessarily feel like doing what I know is right for me to do.  I would rather do my own thing. 
It can be that I have been listening to negative voices in my head.  It can also be that I have been down the road before, and how I am inclined to respond at that given moment is the way I have always responded.
That to me is a major stumbling block.  On a purely physiological level I have establish pathways in my brain that take what seems to be the easiest option.  It is a learned behaviour.  But one that has always seen me not reach the goal I may have.  I know that when ever I have followed it, it has been like snakes and ladders, and I find myself descending a ladder and starting from the bottom again.
The amazing thing is though I always find I am in the same situation again.  Avoidance does not make the problem disappear, it just means it needs to be confronted again down the track. To me it is like my perception of many video games where getting to the next level means I need to complete successfully the level before.
It really depends how much I want something.  If my desire is not strong enough, I will fall at the same hurdle and give up.  But if I do want something I will deal with what has caused me to stop, and move on.
I totally know I need help with that one but the one I depend on has never let me down, and he won’t start now.  To me that sort of adds to the adventure.  Nothing like dealing with what for me has proved impossible.

This weather has been like a full stop on outdoor activity.
It is not like it has rained excessively hard, but it has been consistently wet for days.  We have a weather gauge we like to check.  We have had about 6 inches over the last five days.  Just when I think it may be improving, and I have seen the end of it, it rains seriously again.
I had in mind to mow the lawn for visitors last Tuesday.  Well that option has not been available from about then.  The lawn has been too wet.  It looks healthy for sure, but it is in need of a haircut really.
This is supposed to clear out in the next day or two so I should get to it early next week.
That will be just in time for our planned trip away.  We are going to Daydream Island for a few days.  We are utilizing a deal whereby we got it at what we believe was a good price.  We have upgraded our room so we have a balcony and view of the sea.
In the meantime, we have been doing indoor things at home.  The place looks neat. It has not precluded any outdoor stuff like Merril traveling to Warick to see her mum and me having breakfast with a mate.
I have decided these days are spent quietly.  It may only be four days, but I am feeling like it is time off.  In the not too distant future, I will need to prepare for going away but that does not need to be today, and the rain means it will probably not be.  I mean I have some serious watching to do.
It is sort of a pottering day.  There is stuff we would like to get done and stuff we will do but there does not feel like the pressure is on to get it done.  I want to read some today.  I am also listening to a podcast I am liking.  So I reckon I will be gainfully employed doing stuff I want to do.

Today is the day I get the James Clear email.  There was something said in that in a way I had not considered before that resonates with me.  He was talking about success and had three bits of advice including, "Take all the energy you spend on...worrying about the past, future, what others think and if you might fail... and channel that energy into one useful action within your control."
What hit me was him saying "Stories of failure resonate more than stories of success. Few people reach the top, but everyone has failed—including those who eventually succeed… Start with how you failed."
Just about every true story I have read or movie I have seen about a character that stands out, starts with them failing.  Not everyone succeeds but everyone fails – some in epic fashion.  Yet my thinking is that failing does not make me a failure.  Giving up before I succeed does.
But what got me about what was said “Start with how you failed” - that is something everyone can relate to.
It really ties in with what I try to do when writing (with varying degrees of success).  When faced with using a big or little word I chose the little word as more can understand and relate.  Using the little word means everyone can understand and go on the journey with me.  But using a bigger word excludes.  My thinking is it is better to include where possible.
Where I worked at a university had a building without a lift.  I thought anyone in a wheelchair cannot get to the department.  To me that potentially excluded someone who might be the one to solve a vexing problem.  I was pleased to see a lift added.  Also, when it comes to politics, I refuse to declare a favouritism as that potentially excludes up to 50% of people and maybe more.
By the same token not everyone can relate to success and to speak only of that excludes many.  Yet when I am willing to talk of failures and successes all can relate to the first part of my story.  Anyone who stays with me is generally wanting to experience success for themselves.
Looking back on my life I have had epic fails and in parts of my life I still experience them.  Yet I have also known and also know success.  It is the getting through the failures and experiencing success that resonates.
That does not mean I dwell on failure as that is not where I live, but I do talk about it as the relatable backdrop to success.
My story of success has involved a really good mentor.  Someone who’ advice and guidance has always been good.  Failure happens but it is a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block.