Are you living your dream? Do you love your work and your environment or are you doing what you’ve always done wishing every day that something was different? Is there a little voice in your head saying, “There must be more to life than this!”?
Well, that was me…I too heard the voice singing daily in my head. Now don’t get me wrong I was successful and really good at what I was doing and there were many parts of my role that I loved, however I knew there was more. My dream was to own my own business. I began exploring ideas and options then it finally dawned on me…what if I combined my natural talents and abilities as a coach and created my own practice? Nirvana! I began to nurture my dream by getting more experience and training as a coach. Then…the nurturing turned into a back-story filled with excuses of why I couldn’t possibly have my own practice.
- “I need more experience.”
- “I need another certification.”
- “We have two kids in college, I can’t possibly start a business now!”
- “I won’t make enough money.”
- “Where will I find my clients?”
Those are only a few of the many reasons I told myself and perhaps they sound familiar to you as well. I kept feeding the excuses and becoming increasingly unhappy. I dreaded going into the building that I worked in and I felt unsettled all of the time. One day I decided to start running in hopes that would create internal peace for me, yet little did I know that my sneakers and running would be the thing that helped me create the strength leave my job. The more I ran, the more determined I became until one day it happened…I made MY DECISION and I backed it up with ACTION. I resigned my post, cleaned out my cubicle – that I absolutely adored by the way (not!), packed up my files, books, and said my goodbyes after almost 30 years inside the walls of a large healthcare institution. YIKES!
I was on my way. So here’s the deal I knew deep in my heart for years that I was meant to be independent and help others in a profound way, however I chose to deny my knowing because I had a really good job and security and I just needed to try harder to be happy with what I had. Right…are you telling yourself this? Maybe, you want to be in another role in the company you work for or maybe you want to start a business or be an artist, musician, but you are scared that if you make a move it won’t be right. Are you holding yourself back for fear you will make the wrong choice? What if you removed the idea of right and wrong and you simple make a choice knowing that at any point you can make another decision? That’s the beauty we get to live our life one decision at a time. We get to choose our destination, however our choices are not always the easiest path sometimes they create disappointment and sometimes they create adventure. Each decision marks a forward step in the sand. The longer you avoid a decision the more stuck you become and pretty soon you feel like you’re in quick sand.
Get real with yourself for a minute and answer these questions with True or False:
When I wake up in the morning, I am excited to start my day!
When I am done my day, I still have energy for fun!
When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who is truly happy!
I feel a sense of growth and expansion in my life!
I am grateful to be who I am!
So…true or false, if you have one or more answers that are false, where are you creating excuses that are keeping you from making a decision that will bring you closer to living your dreams? Take out some paper and begin to write…just write, keep writing for 20 minutes. Write whatever comes into your head. Then do it again tomorrow and the next day…trust what you discover about the story you are telling yourself. You’re now on day 3 which is the GO day, review what you’ve learn and here’s the best part, you get to make a decision to stop the story right now and create a new way of thinking. Declare one small action step that you can take today towards your dream. Take a deep breath and do it today!