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“Joy is the feeling of grinning inside” Melba Colgrove
Have you ever felt as though life was happening to you? Would you like to spend more time doing the things you love? Maybe you wish you were earning a living while fulfilling your purpose at the same time?
For years, I have searched for the inspirational blue print that would give me the answer about my unique gifts. I recognized early on that regular jobs were not satisfying. I knew that spending a lifetime working jobs I did not love would be creative suicide however I had very little inspiration and therefore no idea which direction to take.
“You grow the most on the border of chaos and order” James Ray
Building a purpose fulled & inspired life can be one of the most exciting and most challenging times of your life. Many people conveniently cover up their “impractical” talents and dreams with more acceptable means to live and work. When you continue to deny, or outright refuse to listen to the messages from your inner self, it is only a matter of time before you are forced to take a look at the direction of your life. A blessing? If you begin to listen to your heart, then YES!
Here are a few common ways in which people diminish their passion:
- Dreaming is impractical. Sometimes the heart can be extremely impractical and this keeps you from validating your dreams out loud. You may seek approval and of you were to realize your dreams, you may be forced to explain yourself to your family and friends who then question your decisions. Although family and friends mean well, I have learned that the most important person to listen to is your own hearts guidance.
- Missing the cues. Sometimes you fail to recognize the little things that make your hearts soar because you are waiting for the big fireworks to go off with neon arrows pointing the way to your future!
- The money factor. You also may ignore pursuing your dreams because you think that the dream will not be able to pay the bills. You have not learned yet that passion infused with action yields much bigger rewards than simply money, although money will also follow! BE BOLD! If you are doing what you love, you are magnetic and others will be inspired by you.
- Fear of change. Living your dream and discovering your gifts usually results in a life change. You don’t like change and the imagined risk of not knowing what lies in store for you. This is common and makes most of us uncomfortable. The problem is that you don’t know yet that the greatest rewards come from following your passion and faith is required to leap ahead. Act in spite of your fear.
“Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities” T. Josephson
Ask yourself regularly: What unique gifts can I bring to the world and how can I use them to help others? Continually asking questions like these are most important for all of us who desire to live an authentic life. Questions like these will help you discover how you can honor the truest parts of yourself and in turn, make a difference in the lives of those you love and in the world.
Here are some tips for getting in touch with your inner inspiration:
- Allow yourself the possibility. Sometimes the hardest part is the beginning. Ask yourself these questions: If I could buy only 3 magazines, what would they be? What do I think about most? When I talk to others, what gets my heart racing and talking quickly? What do you enjoy doing, yet have never asked for money? Some of the best advice I ever received was to follow my interests without attachment to money or success. As Joseph Campbell was often quoted as saying “follow your bliss”.
- Take Time. Often when we are in the daily grind we lose perspective of the possibilities life has to offer us. Creativity requires room to breathe and taking a break, either for an hour a day or for the weekend to read, imagine and be with yourself can be the best medicine for “possibility block”.
- Get out of the way. Do you believe that you are the answer to your dreams? Do you know that the answers are within you? Trust that your soul knows your true happiness. Whenever you feel weighed with indecision, look inside and trust that the answers are in your heart and keep trusting until the answers begin to reveal themselves (or hit you over the head!)
- The why becomes the how. When you have a dream (the why), you can always figure out the “how”. When the dream is in place there is no such thing as obstacles, only problems to be solved. Do you allow yourself to dream even though you do not know the “how” to make it happen?
- Let go. Letting go is the understanding that you have set into motion your desires. It is already in process and therefore requires no extra force or manipulation. It is also knowing that obstacles also have their place in life and present opportunities that you may not understand at the time.
Each one of us has something unique and special to share with the world. By allowing yourself to be inspired to share your gifts and passions with others you will encourage more to do the same. Creativity replaces boredom, intuition replaces doubt, and passion and joy become an endless supply of energy for yourself and others.
“Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them” John Updike
What keeps you from doing more of what you love? If you are already doing what you love, please share your thoughts with us!
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Outstanding article, Monica! So many people are struggling with living their dreams. By looking within ourselves and not letting our outer circumstances drive us, we really can build the life we want.
Lyman Reeds last blog post..The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas
I really relate to your thoughts on “Dreaming is impractical,” and “Allow yourself the possibility.”
It seems that we can switch residence into another, more truer world, just by following the advice here.
It always amazes me that our perceived reality can change in a heartbeat. That of course should be an uplifting thought. It can also be a scary thought, and a warning, to those that are prone to depression. The upshot is: never believe your vision when the world seems black. Pinch yourself then read this article
John
John Rocheleau - Zen-Momentss last blog post..Empowerment: The Courage to Be Yourself
Excellent post. I wouldn’t have thought I’d be blogging and doing network marketing for a living. I’m here and I couldn’t be happier. I get to be with my children, make my own hours and do what I love, teach others. It really is a perfect set up . I think sometimes we need to take a different snapshot of our life. We have this picture in our head of what things might be like. That isn’t always the case so snap again and create a new photo!
Thanks so much for this article! I’m a teacher who’s off for the summer and dreaming about not ever having to go back. It’s so tough to balance the risks with the payoffs of being home with my child. Still, your article gives me hope!
This is an AWESOME article, Monica! It really hit home with me, especially the four ways we block and diminish our passion and creativity. So very true!
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Fear is the mind killer.
Allans last blog post..Semper Fidelis