Posts tagged ‘how to follow your dreams’

May 24th, 2010

Be the Super Hero in Your Own Comic Book Life

As I was driving around today, I thought about how neat it would be if our lives were like the movies. Then upon thinking about it further, I realized our lives are like the movies!

Although you may not realize it, you’re the protagonist in the story of your own life.

There’s tons of obstacles in your way. Villains lurking in every corner. Burning bridges you must avoid and challenges you need to overcome along the way.

So here they are.

I’ve compiled a list of your 5 worst enemies and the strategies you’ll need to battle them and win.

  1. The Party Pooper – Dressed in all black this enemy is as harmless as Eeyore unless you let him get to you. His weapon? His droopy eyes like Puss in Boots in Shrek. Whenever you’re up, he’s down. Combat his sad demeanor by minimizing time with him and never talk to him about your superhero strengths.
  2. The Grey Shadow – Party Pooper’s evil twin sister, the Grey Shadow fights skillfully with her sharp tongue. On days when you feel filled with self-doubt, avoid your archenemy at all cost. She will find your weak spot and dive daggers into your soul. You’ll start to wonder why you even tried to be a super hero in the first place.
  3. Evil Mirror –  Sometimes your worst enemy is the person looking back at you in the mirror. Their weapon? Your insecurities. When Evil Mirror comes lurking, pull out your own weapons: affirmations, positive statements, and your sidekick supportive friend to help.
  4. Big Bully – You leap tall buildings in a single bound. When you get down, Big Bully pushes you and calls you a freak. Never befriend a Big Bully. In fact, the less energy and attention you give him the better. Soon he’ll lose interest and find another super hero to attack.
  5. Two Headed Monster – On some days, he’s your best friend. He compliments your superhero strengths. Makes you feel like the king of the mountain. Then, in one single swoop he finds you when you’re most vulnerable and attacks. The best way to win this battle? Don’t hang around for either. Don’t be dependent on others statements about you. Instead, empower yourself and let those words slide right off your fancy schmancy superhero cape.

These are just 5 of your enemies. There are some that still haven’t revealed themselves to you. The further you go to empower yourself, the more enemies will appear. Be strong! Never forget your mission (to accomplish your dreams) and always remember to take care of your super hero self!

Photo by: the Sofa

January 4th, 2010

Life Tasks to Uncover Your Dreams

It’s 2010. Do you know where your dreams are?

As for me, I’ve been stumbling. Faltering like the imperfect soul I am to find peace, inspiration and follow my dreams. In one year, what have I learned?

It takes real work to get to your dreams.

It takes physical work.

The kind that uses your muscles and sweat to get rid of old things. Decluttering. Finally saying sayonara to old letters, sweaters you bought a year ago and never used. Books you tried to finish but could never get past those first few pages. Oh and maybe a bit of exercising too! I spent a few years taking zumba and have literally felt the stress sweat out of me.

It takes mental work too.

Finding happiness and searching for your purpose involves a lot of painful mental work. Digging into the hard stuff like uncovering your greatest flaws, admitting to mistakes and accepting yourself in the process are utterly exhausting. So if you’ve already begun the process, you deserve a medal, or a spa day or a giant cookie. You do. You really do!

It takes seeing outside of the box.

Sometimes on our life paths, we fail to see outside the lines. Why do so when it’s so safe and comfy here? Well for one, life is so much more magical when we open ourselves up to possibilities instead of limitations. What I learned last year was that I could give up the expectation that I had to have a full-time corporate job in order to make a living. Just what if I could do something I truly loved and make money from it? While I’ve also learned that it ain’t easy, I’ve also discovered it’s very possible.

It takes courage.

Oh there are so many reasons not to follow your dreams! There’s money, fear of the unknown, self-doubt, economy, etc. I could go on and on. But you only really need one reason to keep going-fulfillment. I like to think of it as feeling fully filled in love, passion and inspiration. When every ounce of your being is saying, “Yes! This feels right!”

It takes some risk-taking!

You could be happy living a safe life, but happiness is fleeting. A life fulfilled that challenges us to live our highest potential, well that’s a life filled with miracles, magic and authentic living. But it involves lots of risk-taking. I love reading about Walt Disney and how he risked everything to follow his dreams. He didn’t have enough money for food or shelter and yet he gave everything he had to make his passion a reality. Some probably called him crazy. But they would later call him genius.

It takes letting go.

Part of the process is learning how to let go. Letting go of who you were (2009 schmuck) to enable you to be the person you were destined to be (2010 star!). Learn how to let go of relationships, jobs and even environments that are toxic and you’ll be leaving room for the positive, happy you you’ve been waiting for.

What about you?

What things did you discover about yourself this year? Has it helped you get closer to your dreams? Please share!