Life Journey - 6 Steps are CREATE
Written by: Hazel Curtis, Inspirational Speaker, Author, and Coach
Are you living a life you LOVE? Did you awake this morning wondering what amazing hand of cards you would be dealt? Did you show up at work thinking how your talents and strengths would be utilized for the betterment of this world? If you said YES, you – my friend – are a rare exception.
Most of us are waiting! We’re not sure what we are waiting for, but we are waiting. Here’s the deal, Life isn’t about finding yourself, Life is about Creating Yourself. YES, there is something you can do today.
Here are the 6 steps, in a nutshell, to transform your life into one of amazement. Though the steps seem simple, they will not be easy! You will have to work to attain each of them. The 6 steps are CREATE:
C = Commit to the journey. Life journeys come at odd - yet predictable times in our lives. Usually we don’t even recognize the journey until we are in the middle of it. Rarely do we purposefully create a journey plan. Think about the times when everything changed. The first, most likely was when you left home for college or a job. Everything shifted - - -friends, places, family relationships, responsibilities. Even though you were eager for the change, it also had challenges. Other predictable times we experience huge shifts include marriage, new baby, kids moving out, job changes, retirement. Mostly we don’t give these experiences much planning beyond the singular event.
What would happen if you purposefully created a life journey shift toward a life you love? A life that would fulfill your passion, purpose and give you strength and power? What if you didn’t have to leave the people around you, move somewhere else, or even change jobs?
Taking a new journey takes planning, focus, and a great deal of inner work. My journey began after my children were grown. I had spent the first third of my life growing up, leaving my family, and launching my career. I had spent the middle third being a wife, mother and career professional. Now, I have the last third left! There is plenty of opportunity to do something very different. Perhaps even different from my career path. It will be many more years until I am an old lady. One who deserves to spend her day rocking on the porch!
Evaluating the opportunities that come to us, blending what we’ve learned from school, career, and life lessons allows us to focus on our purpose. Asking ourselves why we are on this earth and what we are destined to accomplish gives us perspective to our passion. Understanding our unique blend of strengths, talents, and experiences gives us our power.
R = Recognize your passion & purpose. The journey to self-discovery is not for the faint of heart. You will be required to ask yourself some very difficult questions and then to get comfortable with the answers you find. Please understand this - - - “Your life is NOT an accident!” You were created for a very special reason, there is something this world needs from you, something only you can fulfill. In fact, there is only ONE of you! Here are some questions to start you on your way:
- Who am I?
What am I here to do or to be?
What happened to the girl/guy I used to be?
How do I make the most of this life?
What lesson is earth school teaching me?
E = Enjoy this moment! While you are focusing on who, how and what, please don’t forget today. Answers to the journey will take time. While you are working through them, don’t forget everything that makes TODAY wonderful. Smell the roses, savor your food, and engage in meaningful conversations. Be brave and put the cell phone away. Simply “BE!” Remember we only have NOW!
Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is Mystery
Today is a GIFT! That’s why it is called “the Present!”
Give serious consideration to what you are waiting for and put it into perspective! Are you waiting to find the perfect person, the perfect job, the perfect promotion? I’ve learned that when you wait, you miss the life that happens in the middle – between where are now and where you’d rather be. Truly you are missing your own life.
A = Accept Your Divine Design. A wise professor recently asked his class, “if you aren’t YOU because you are trying to be someone else, then who – in this life and world – will be YOU? Think on that a bit. Trying to be someone else is a total waste of time and energy; besides its useless. We cannot, nor should not be someone else.
It is important to accept the body you have been given and move back in! It’s a miracle you’ve been given by God for as long as you have a pulse. Stop thinking of yourself as a walking head with bothersome, unattractive attached appendages. Quit rehearsing faults with your hair, nose, thighs – you know what I mean. All these things are YOU! Your appendages are not something to hate, they are what makes your life possible. They allow you to hug others, to enjoy the air, to dance and be alive. If there are things you need to do to get healthier, find people to help you. Besides, change happens – not by hatred – but by love.
If you need to get healthier, whether it is to gain control of diet or fitness – find a health coach. If you have feelings of low self-esteem, depression, or difficult relationships – find a therapist. If there are things that get in the way of you effectively communicating with others, get educated. If you need help with work issues – get a career or leadership coach. If finances are your challenge – find a financial coach. Please, stop criticizing yourself. Accept that you are ENOUGH! We always have 3 choices - Accept it, fix it or forget it!
T = Treat yourself gently. If you have made the commitment to join the journey of self-discovery and re-creation, you must handle yourself gently. During this journey, you should expect hills, valleys, muddy roads, rocks and even flat tires! To start the road, here are a few suggestions.
Stop rescuing everything and everybody! You can only be responsible for yourself. Except for very small children, people need and usually want to be responsible for themselves. While caring for our twenty-seven-month-old grandson, I have had an opportunity to observe his competence in self-care. He asks for the food and water he needs. He picks out his clothes and helps get them on. He even puts his toys away! There are adults who could learn from him.
Secondly, please ASK others for help! Adults seem to have a great deal of difficulty with asking. Asking for help does not represent a weakness or lack of capability. Men enjoy helping other men do a task, it creates a delightful opportunity for conversation and bonding. Women enjoy assisting each other in the kitchen – so if you are having guests, stop with the perfection and instead enjoy the co-creation of the meal.
Lastly, spend time on your priorities! It is essential. You are free to claim this quote, “Failure to plan on your part does not create an emergency on mine!
E = Expect the Unexpected. If you have completed the first 5 steps in this plan, your only job now is to tune into Serendipity or Synchronicity. This happens when the universe conspires to delight you. When opportunity suddenly starts flowing your way. When you discover that what you are destined to do truly aligns in so very many ways with the things you are already doing. When you keep your heart and mind open – you will suddenly realize you are living a life of amazement.
Howard Thurmond has said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do that – because what the world needs is people who have come alive!”
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