Have you ever had the feeling that you are some kind of robot that lives the same daily routine begging to get through your day so you can get home, sit in front of the TV and get lost in a show, event or movie helping you to ignore how boring and insignificant your life has become?
Then you look around, and you see everyone else around you going through the same routine – I know at times it looks like a collection of wind-up toys following a routine that is certainly not of our choosing.
Sure, we have our little escapes and pleasures through the day – a cup of coffee, the internet, TV and if we are lucky – a walk outside or a trip to the gym.
With a vacation or two each year, we convince ourselves…”this must be what the good life is like, no?”
Unfortunately, this is the NORMAL routine for 99% of us.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way, the more importance we place on escaping this controlled environment, the closer we will be to changing our lives forever.
Escaping this “zombie” existence is what SNAP: Getting Unstuck In Life is all about.
Why do we continue to settle for being controlled when we have so much more energy, vitality, enthusiasm, creativity and impact in us just waiting to be unleashed?
In many cases it is one or a combination of:
- Not understanding there is an option
- Failing to see that change is within your control
- Ignoring your passions and purpose in life
- Giving in to fear and uncertainty over your ability to reach your true potential
- Putting off change to some point in the future which, unfortunately, often never comes
- Having a body and mind that are so toxic, change is much more difficult
Now if you are reading this and any of this is hitting home, then you have reached an incredible turning point in your life where you can choose to continue sleep-walking through life or you can make the most exciting, meaningful and potentially life-changing decision to take matters into your own hands and begin to steer your life in a direction that aligns with your purpose, passion and abilities.
Here are 3 ways you can wake up and begin changing your life starting NOW!
Stop Ignoring Your True Purpose
I know that people get confused and upset over the notion of finding or having a purpose in life.
They are confused over what this purpose is…and don’t immediately recognize what they view as a significant purpose or objective for their life.
Start by taking the pressure off of yourself.
A good way to start is to analyze what you are already drawn to…for some of you you may still spend time, for others you may have long since put it aside in favor of “practical” (or what I call “zombie” living)
Avoid judgement on whether you can make a living in alignment with your purpose, many of you have already decided secretly in your minds that you cannot – so we want to put that aside for the time being simply because we are inevitably wrong in that regard.
When you live in alignment with a purpose and in tune with passion you become almost “super-human”, finding skills, confidence, energy and power that you have not experienced thus far in your life – so what you are capable of achieving is much greater than you give yourself credit for.
Putting all else aside, develop 4-6 statements about what contribution you would ultimately like to bring to the world if money didn’t matter…you MUST think of it this way.
Be Present
Part of living the “zombie” life is putting your head down and just getting through your day.
In fact, as smart human beings we become very good at escapism, avoidance, and substitution trying to fill the gaps so we can live with ourselves knowing we are not aligned with our true purpose and passion.
Here are 3 ways you can immediately become more present in your life:
- Meditation – even if you think you hate meditation or can’t do it…you can! I struggled with meditation for over a decade before I took the pressure off and gave myself a couple of weeks listening to pleasurable, repetitive sounds (ocean waves in my case) and found that amazingly, I got it. The improvement in my mindfulness as well as overall health was incredible
- Focused breathing – it may sound strange that simply being conscious of something as simple as your breathing for 5-minutes a day can lead to overall improvements in mindfulness in your life, but it is true. Like anything else, mastering mindfulness is a practice and habit that can be learned and mastered – just get started.
- Daily journal. I know this one was challenging for me, taking the time each day to journal the main point of my day and my thoughts and feelings about them seemed like a waste of time. Amazingly this turned out to be one of the absolute best exercises for becoming more aware of myself and what I wanted out of life. I could bury these thoughts or feelings in my mind, but when I wrote them out, I could no longer ignore them
Stop Being Afraid
As humans it amazes me how much fear each and every one of us holds onto.
If the human body is 60%-70% water, then the human emotional state is at least that dominated by fear.
We have wrapped ourselves in fear, anxiety and insecurities that are so restrictive, it’s incredible we are even able to get out of bed each day (some of you reading this may not!)
Fear is disastrous to our mental and physical health leading to nearly every phobia you can think of and is at the root of many of our most serious diseases.
If there is one thing you want to focus on to change your life it is understanding and then managing the fear in your own mind.
Inside SNAP: Getting Unstuck In Your Life we go through various techniques to first become aware of our fear (recollecting different points in our lives, writing events out, understanding our thoughts better, noticing self-talk, etc…) and then proactive ways to put that fear into perspective eventually replacing it with confidence and action plans.
You will not be able to truly wake up in your life when fear has its icy grip on your psyche.
Of course, the great news about all of this is that rekindling excitement and awareness of your purpose, living in the present and tackling your fear is ALL within your control and can start immediately.
The choice for a better, more free and exciting life is yours to make – is this something you really want to put off any longer?
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