You don’t have to move fast, but you do need to move
This is it. You may have decided that you are going to make some big changes in your life. It could be a change in careers, moving, leaving or starting a relationship, or going back to school.
Now what?
I have done these things – all of them – so many times over the last few decades that I have learned a thing or two about myself during the process.
I have lived in other countries, switched careers four times, gone back to school full-time while still working, started and ended long-term relationships, and moved more times than I can count.
In other words, I have lived a life full of changes all of the time.
It was impossible not to be happy in Costa Rica – just out there swimming with a friend
There are two ways to exist in this world. You can choose to be pleasant or you can choose to be miserable. If you are not able to be pleasant, then you have chosen misery.
The conditioning that we received as children that enabled us to fit into society also absolved us of the ability to recognize that we have the power to choose our thoughts and our emotions. We get very good at blaming others or outside circumstances for our unhappiness.
In other words, we don’t take responsibility for who we are and how we act.
By saying things like, “Oh, that’s just the way I am” or “I’ve always been this way,” we absolve ourselves of the ability to choose a different path. We lose our strength by giving our power away in this manner.
When you experience joy, it is truly unlike any other emotion. There is such a sense of freedom and clarity that comes with it, and the purity of the emotion brings peace and a sense of ease.
If we could feel joy in every moment, what a wonderful life it would be!
What stops us from feeling this way? Mostly it is the expectation that things should be different than how they are at the moment. There is a distance between where you are and where you wish to be.
If you could find joy in just being alive, then each day would be a success as soon as you opened your eyes. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful feeling?
Flowers always inspire joy – gazing at something like this can make you feel wonderful!
There is an inner navigation system that we all have access to that can help us travel through life and through this world. The emotions are like a beacon in the darkness that constantly remind us when we have strayed off course.
Most of the time our thoughts and the constant noise around us keep us disconnected from the ability to sense how we are feeling. The strong emotions of anger and fear get through, but the more subtle ones can go unnoticed.
Learning to be present and to quiet the mind is the most effective way to allow these emotions to guide us along the best path towards our destiny.
That is why meditation is so effective. By going within and calming the mind, the essence of who we truly are can shine through. It is in these moments that clarity cuts through the fog like a laser beam and enhances our ability to manifest what we desire.
I am dwarfed by the magnificence of creation. My problems are meaningless. I choose to live in joy
It can be overwhelming sometimes to know what you want. There are so many choices, so many different options that making a decision and narrowing it down to one can be intimidating.
And that can be just what to have for breakfast!
The world is like a big buffet. No two people are the same, nor do we need to be. We all have basic needs of survival, like having food, shelter and safety. After that, it becomes a choice as to what interests you and how you want to live your life.
Sometimes other people make our choices for us, and if these choices don’t resonate with us then we can feel resentment. As we get older we have the power to reclaim our lives and do what we choose to do.
So why do so many people stay in jobs or careers that they absolutely despise?
Miracles are everywhere, just open your eyes and you will see
Just for today, I am going to do everything on this list. Then I will see how I feel. Then tomorrow, it will be today again, and I will do everything on this list.
Today, I will be kind to everyone I meet and everyone I think about. I can never truly know someone else’s story, or what they have gone through. I will be kind because I can be.
Today, I will be thankful for everything that I have and everything that I am. I woke up this morning and that is enough. Everything after that is a bonus.
Today, I will find reasons to be happy. I have food in the fridge, a roof over my head, and I am free to move around as I please. For me freedom is the most important thing, and I appreciate that I live in a country where it is respected.
Today, I will leave the baggage of the past in the past. It is heavy and I don’t need to carry it with me. Everything happened the way it was supposed to, and it brought me to where I am today. For that I am truly thankful.
Today, I will say what I mean and mean what I say. I will not expect others to know what I want or need. If it is important to me, I will ask for it. Mostly though I like to do things for myself.
Today, I will treat my body like the wonderful temple that it is. I will not take it for granted and I will feed it foods that support it to do the amazing work that it does to keep me alive.
Today, I will do something nice for someone. It might just be a smile, or holding a door open, or sending a note to someone I haven’t talked to lately. I will do it because it makes me feel good, not because I expect anything in return.
Today, I will notice the miracles around me. I will watch the sun rise and set, I will appreciate the abundance of nature, and I will be thankful for being here to witness it.
Today, I will enjoy the simple act of breathing. I appreciate that when I breathe, there is always air to take in. It is a wonderful gift that I don’t think about very often, but if it were ever taken away even for a few moments I would be terrified.
Today, I will spend some time in silence. No music, no computer, no nothing. No thoughts either. Just simple quietness that doesn’t have to be anything else.
Today, I will listen to what other people are saying. I will not interrupt, nor will I spend time formulating what I am going to say while they are talking. I will give the gift of my undivided attention in every interaction I have.
Today, I will do my best. I will tackle all tasks with enthusiasm and joy, and move through the day accomplishing what needs to be done. My best is always good enough.
And finally, today, I will be the love that I want to see in the world. I can never be miserable enough to change things, but I can be happy and change myself. It is the only thing I can do.
Sit, think, and figure it out. You can’t get there if you don’t know where you are going! Photo Credit: Dawn Kay
Would you ask a 16 year old to plan your life for you? Are you in a career now that you decided on many years ago that doesn’t satisfy you? Are you afraid to leave because you have invested so much time into it that you are scared to walk away?
Some people suffer for years because they are following a path that was laid out long ago that no longer resonates with them. Maybe it never did, but they were encouraged to go into a certain line of work by others, usually family.
Yes, we all need to be productive in life, but don’t you envy the people who make a living doing what they are passionate about? Don’t you wish you could wake up every day, excited and anticipating all that is to come?
I walked this beach in Puerto Rico for hours and hours. I finally found what I was looking for
No fooling around with this one – this is perhaps the most important thing that you can do to realize your dreams.
First, you must know what your dreams are!
Spend some time thinking about what your ideal day looks like. From personal experience, I know that having no structure and no goals wasn’t fulfilling to me. I used to think that wandering around on an island all day was going to satisfy me, but then I did it and it wasn’t true.
When we can only think of wanting to have less to do in life, it means that we need a break. We are struggling to accommodate the pressures we put on ourselves. Take a look at where you can ease the commitments you have and give yourself some much needed relaxation.
A long road ahead, easily manoeuvred one step at a time
Sometimes getting started is the hardest part.
Whenever I decide I want to begin a new project, the first thing that runs through my mind is usually negative. How hard is this going to be? How much of my time is this going to take? What can go wrong? What if I invest a lot of time and find out I don’t want to do it after all?
I have decided that this type of thinking is stopping me before I even get going. I have a new plan of action – start with the positive questions instead of the negative ones. It’s a simple switch that works like a miracle.
I have several projects on the go right now. As I consider how to attack these head-on, I’m thinking in terms of what positive things they will bring into my life. In other words, I start by looking for the benefits and not the negatives.
Everything is temporary. Open your eyes and don’t miss life
What is intuition anyways? It is recognizing and allowing your true voice to be heard, and then acting on it. We all have it, it’s just sometimes the outside world is too loud for us to hear what’s going on inside.
When it comes to feeling your best, listening to your inner voice is the most important thing to do. No two of us are alike. To allow others to tell you how you should feel and what you should do just doesn’t make sense.
You’re the best judge when it comes to deciding what makes you feel good or not. Only you know how much sleep you need, what kinds of food you should eat, and how much and what type of exercise you need.
When you ignore your inner voice and give your power away to others, confusion sets in.
