Inspiration for the Mind, Body & Soul
A BLOG DEVOTED TO SHARING POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING MESSAGES FOR THE HUNGRY HEART
“Life gives us choices. You either grab on with both hands and just go for it, or you sit on the sidelines.”
― Christine Feehan
Life is all about taking chances. You can spend your entire life making the safe choice and watching life pass you by from the sidelines. Or, you can choose to be uncomfortable and take a leap of faith to open yourself up to a life full of limitless possibilities.
“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.”
― C. JoyBell C.
Life is all about growth and transformation. But in order to grow and transform into your highest self, you must go out into the world and expose yourself to the good and bad. You must experience all facets of life in order to learn the lessons that lead to change, which in turn inspires growth and a shift in perceptions. Real growth and change isn’t going to happen by locking yourself away in a cave or a room and meditating all day. Rather, you must lay your soul bare to the world and work hard to create the world you dream of by transforming the way you think, behave and act.
“If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.”
― Thomas Merton
Your identity is not defined by your job, your hobbies, your favorite color, your favorite tv show, etc. It goes much deeper than that. Your identity is intertwined with your core essence. It is tied to your purpose in life…it goes to what drives you to get out of bed each day and fight the good fight. It is the one thing no one can ever take from you.
“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls…are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”
― James Patterson
As you progress through life, you begin to reassess your priorities and values. You hopefully learn that your family, health, friends and integrity are priceless. They are like glass balls – fragile and irreplaceable. These are things worth fighting for because if you are lucky enough to collect all four balls, you have all you need for a fulfilling life. And yes, it’s hard to juggle all five balls when you throw work into the mix, but do you really want to find out what life’s like when you drop one of the glass balls? I surely hope not. So, take each day and check the excuses at the door. Make time to nurture the aspects of your life of utmost importance – friendships, family, your health and your integrity. For when it’s gone, it’s gone…
“Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
― Anthony Robbins
Carpe diem, seize the day. It’s great to be a planner, to fully think through every decision and choice. But sometimes, you must tune out the voices and simply be in the moment. Follow your heart, leap with both feet and simply learn what it means to live. Trust that everything will work out in the end. Sure, you’ll make mistakes, it’s called being human. So, take time to be spontaneous, crazy and carefree…enjoy your life, for you only get one shot, so make it count.
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
― Brian Tracy
I believe firmly that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Change and growth isn’t about waiting for your circumstances to change or for someone’s behavior to change, it is about changing how you perceive the world around you. By changing your attitude and outlook, you can go from being stuck to creating a life filled with joy and limitless possibilities.
“Know who you are, and be it. Know what you want, and go out and get it!”
― Carroll Bryant
Be secure in who you are and each day strive to be that person. There will always be someone who has a negative opinion of you and your choices, but at the end of the day, you must remember this is your life. So, ignore the naysayers and do you. Everything else will fall into place.
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”
― Susan Polis Schutz
What you do in this life is truly up to you. No one else can live your life for you. We each have our own path we must walk alone. And it is up to you to choose how you travel. You can choose to make your path very difficult to traverse by tying ankle weights to your legs or you can choose to free yourself from the burdens of yesterday and embrace your journey. Free your mind, body and soul. Take the power inside of you to author your own story. Because at the end of the day, this life is yours and yours alone.
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
― Alan W. Watts
The first step in moving forward and creating the life you crave is to be present in this moment. You need to learn how to live in the here and now. The past is gone and you can’t get it back. While the future has yet to happen. But the present moment is happening right now, so don’t let it pass you by. It’s time to become engaged and connected with the present moment.
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
― Jon Krakauer
Don’t be afraid of change because it is so easy to become complacent and comfortable in our lives. We may be miserable but something holds us back from getting up and making change happen. Whether it be a fear of the unknown or of failure. But at some point, you must wake up and realize that life isn’t about feeling safe, secure and comfortable all the time. Sometimes you have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and take a leap of faith to truly learn what it means to fly. So, today stop making excuses for your unhappy circumstances and take your first step down the untrodden path of change.