Often some of the things we do are not because we truly desire them, they are others' dreams. We are afraid to go after what it is we truly desire for many reasons. One of these being that by shining our unique light, we are exposed, vulnerable. We are saying, "this is me following my heart and telling my story to the world."
But let me also tell you this: its raw. Its real. And it's the most beautiful thing we can do.
The difference between people that go ahead and live their dream, people who break free and design their life according to what they really want to do and those who are not is more about action than fear.
The truth is that all of us feel fear. That is never going to go away. But those who are living their dreams are not afraid to act anyway.
It is the things that both excite and scare us at the same time that will make us feel the most alive. These are the things that will bring us happiness.
Imagine a blank canvas. We have a brush and pallet with many beautiful colors. Now we pick the colors we love and we get to use to them to create what we want. The canvas is our life. Too often we limit ourselves from designing our life the way we want it because we get busy looking for others for approval or guidance.
Through my meditation practice, through traveling and through what I've learned about life so far is that letting go is not only incredibly liberating, but necessary. We have the choice to either be our own worst critic and give in to doing more of what we don't truly desire or our own best friend, setting boundaries where necessary.
I'd say the best friend deal sounds good. What do you think?
The best respect is gained through doing what we love and sharing it with others. What other people think of something before it is done is based on their story, experiences- therefore it is irrelevant.
Let's begin without feeling completely ready because there is no perfect time. What is most important is that we begin.
We must go within and ask ourselves questions, letting go of what others think and any form of story we may be holding on to, including the story of our past.
Life happens in the here and now. Dreams change and evolve. By becoming present in our body we are best able to align with what it is that we need now in our lives. Not what we needed before or what we thought we needed. This is about basing our direction on who we have become and what we have learned that has brought us to the person we are now.
When we talk alignment and meeting our needs, we must also talk values.
Try this: write a list of your top 6 values and beside each one, write why you value that specific thing. Because moreso than what we are doing is why we are doing it. When we know why we are doing something, we cultivate drive. We check in to make sure we really want this.
So for example, say you value simplicity. Why? Because it leads to being more organized and clutter free both physically and mentally. Why clutter free? Because then we are defined more by who we are rather than what we have. And why is this so important? Because the sense of liberation feels great.
Our values lead to us making focused decisions which are fueled by our why- why are we doing this? This in turn cultivates our inner drive to design our lives accordingly.
In my own life, this process has made me realize that at the end of the day, its all about how we feel. Feeling good is the most important thing.
This exercise can be pretty exciting! Living in simplicity is definitely one of my values. I'm sure you can see through my "why" that I will make my decisions based on honoring my value of simplicity because in doing this, I feel liberated. And let me tell you, the feeling of freedom is none other than pure bliss.
Write your why for each of the values you have written down. By knowing our "why", we do the things we do for no other reason than because we truly want to and they make us feel good.
When we are aware of our values, what it is that is important to our well-being and sense of fulfillment, we use this awareness in our decisions. We become active creators of our experiences and choose what we do based on optimum congruency with our values.
This is about examining those things that recharge us, fill our cup, excite us. Its about becoming mindful so we can do more of what is good for our soul. For example, my yoga practice supports me in living balanced, grounded and present. As we become aware of the habits, practices and situations that most support our well-being, we become active creators in our lives- we are better able to center our work, relationships and lifestyle around fulfillment.
When we are faced with a decision, any decision from a job offer to choosing who we spend our time with, we are better equipped to make one that will energize and allow us to live in present-centered balance.
Let's also remember that we gain clarity through all our experiences. The experiences that bring us joy and fulfillment show us what we want. But the challenging experiences are also incredibly valuable to defining our desire because they show us what we don't want. This contrast further clarifies what it is we desire.
"Know thyself- then you will know how to live."
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