November 2013 - Zen Chick

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
~ Walt Whitman

“What day is it?”

“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.

“My favorite day,” said Pooh.”

Can you say today is your favorite day too?

The simple wisdom of Pooh, always showing us the way to appreciate our lives in the moment regardless of our circumstances. So why do we spend so much of our time running toward the life we want to live instead of living the life we have right now?

To help you decode the mystery, let’s start with a fill in the blank.

I will start living my life once I have or once I complete___________.

The answer is the reason you are putting off your life, your dream or even your happiness. You chase that answer relentlessly hoping that once you catch it you will start living your life or the life you think you want to live. But what if you discovered that all of that running and pursuing only gave you what you already had?

Now fill in this blank, I want to be ______________ in my life. (thanks Danielle LaPorte)

The second answer deals more with how do you want to feel in your life. (happy, loved, content, peaceful, grounded, free, confident,etc.)

Both of these answers are completely different because the first one is a physical thing, like quitting a dead end job, finishing a course that leads to a better life, having more time, a better job, a business, more money, etc. The second one is the feeling that you hope to create from the first answer.

What if you already have the second answer (the feeling) in your life right now without pursuing the first answer (the dream, goal, job, etc.)?

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying you should stop shooting for the stars, going for your dreams or quitting that life sucking job. No what I’m saying is savor that feeling that you want in your life and keep savoring it WHILE you are moving toward your greatness.

Truly appreciating your life for what it is……LIFE. There is no perfection in any of our lives, just day to day living with all of it’s ups, downs and warts. (okay not warts but you get the picture)

Instead of running toward your life, stop right now and savor the feelings you want in your life.

Shifting your thinking from “what you need next in your life” to “how do you want to feel in your life” moves you more into the present moment of living your life instead of chasing it. Focusing on how you want to feel on a soul level can change what you are running toward so that you start enjoying the journey instead of the destination.

I shared this shift in thinking with my Mastermind group at our monthly meeting (these girls are my greatest guinea pigs and cheerleaders…thanks girls!) writing down 3 feelings that we want more of in our lives for 2014. Each of us are moving toward a dream or goal in our lives but when we shifted our thoughts to the 3 feelings it added a wonderful dimension to each of our journeys.

What about you, ready to start feeling the way you want to feel in your life without the marathon to get there? Ready to uncover the feelings that speak to your soul so you can start living them every day? I would love for you to share in the comment section the 3 feelings you want in YOUR life and to help get you started here are mine:

Free, Soulful, Peace

* If you would like to dive deeper into finding how to map out your core desire feelings, check out The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte.

photo credit: San Diego Shooter via photopin

“Good is the enemy of great.” ~Jim Collins

There seemed to be a “missing piece” to my personal story in the original post called Is “Good” Enough? My oldest daughter who is my blog critic and supporter, pointed out that I skipped the most important part of my story, how I figured out that I wanted to leave good behind and move to GREAT.

“Huh?” I said, “Do you really think the details are that important?”

“Absolutely” she said, “Even I don’t know that part of your story and it’s important to hear what led someone to the decision to change the direction of their life.

”So here we are at Part 2, finishing my story of what made me walk away from good to get to great……

I was loading the dishwasher one morning, exhausted and stressed out, thinking that I was headed for the heart attack or the big C because of that stress, knowing that I wanted so much more from my life. I wanted something to be passionate about, something that would speak to my soul and if I was going to work this hard then it was going to be for me, not a corporation.

I wanted to help people and bodywork came to mind in the form of chiropractic. I knew this would be a long road, probably 6 years to complete but I wanted it and was willing to make it happen. I knew that I had to continue working my full time job but with the support of my husband and kids, I knew I could do this.

I was off to the races pursuing my new venture with passion, going to school at night and working during the day. Even though it sounds even more exhausting and stressful, I found that when I hit the classroom at night after a long day, I was rejuvenated and eager to get going again.

I finished one semester and started into my second when *BAM* the Universe decided to throw down a roadblock in the form of a promotion. Now some people would think, “Okay so I’m not meant to do this and now I have an even better job with more money. It’s just not meant to be.”

Not me, I was pissed and I mean pissed in a big way. I’m shaking my fist at the Universe saying “How dare you take this away from me, this is what I want to do and I know that I can make a difference.” The Universe, of course, didn’t say a word which made me even madder.

About a month into my mad spell I was still questioning “the why” with no answers when a good friend of mine introduced me to one of her friends who was a massage therapist and had started a massage school. She started asking me if I had thought about becoming a therapist. “No” I said, “I was starting chiropractic school but had to stop due to my promotion.”

“Think about it” she said.

I did, opening up my mind to new possibilities and when the light bulb finally came on in my pissed off head, I realized that I had just been blessed with a little Divine intervention. The Universe had spoken to me through that roadblock allowing me to find my great instead of settling for good. 21 years later I’ve never regretted leaving behind good because great has lead me to a much more satisfying and happy life.

And that’s “the rest of the story” (love Paul Harvey) and I hope that a little insight into my life helps you understand how great may show up in yours. Great, in my opinion, can be small steps or giant leaps but it all starts with the one thing that speaks true to your heart and soul.

I would love to hear your comments and your story of moving from good to great, so jump on down to the comment section below and share the love with all of us. Also share the love of this post with someone in your life who would like to move from good to great.

* If you need help finding that good to great pathway or a different path in another area of your life, check out the Work with Me page. The Living Room Sessions are the newest addition to the page. Working with you and a group of your girlfriends (or guy friends) in your living room or mine, really digging down to get all of you on the path to truly loving and really living your lives. Connect with me and let’s get started.

photo credit: xcode via photopin cc

Stop Running Toward Your Life and Start Living It.

Is “Good” Enough? (part 2)

Archives for November 2013