Dare to Believe

Are you a person that is afraid to try new things?  Big or small, it can be nerve racking to change something in your life. Something as small as changing the brand of laundry detergent, to a big move to a new city can cause so many different emotions.  One universal emotion we all feel is fear.

Why are we afraid, or feel anxious when new things are entered into our lives?  Why are we afraid to change? Because the fear that it won’t work out, overrides our adventurous mind.  We are afraid that our lives will fall apart if we make the wrong decision.  I’ve recently been deliberating over a big decision for me and what helped me make this decision was to go to the “why”. Why was I wanting to change or why is this change necessary?  Knowing the ‘why” is good and helps us not feel so scared, but more importantly is knowing where the “why” is coming from.  Searching in ourselves with our decisions starts with knowing what’s in our heart. This quote by Bryant McGill says it so perfectly.

We need to not be afraid of following our heart, because good things will happen.  I know it seems scary when our dream seems impractical or even impossible, but we can’t let fear grasp us and hold us back.  We need to Dare to believe in ourselves. Dare to believe in others. Dare to believe that even though this world is a wicked place, that good can come from it.  One amazing and inspirational example of all time for following her heart was Mother Teresa.  She was such an amazing leader of this world in her service to others. Her dream was to uplift those around her and help as many people as she could reach.  How much good came from her actions?  How many ripples of good influence did that one stone make in this incredibly complicated world?  Did any good come from her following her dream, despite the difficulties, and doubts she must have had?  Of course. That is why we speak so lovingly of her name today. 

Following your heart doesn’t mean you need to make a world impact. The truth is, you never know how many people you inspire each day, but just being you.  There are so many good things that come about from doing what you love and trying new things.  Act on what your hearts telling you. It will ultimately lead you on the happiest path that brings good things to others along the way.

At What Cost?

How long does it take you to go shopping?  Do you take time to write down a list? Do you look at the ads when they come out to see the sales? When you finally decide what you want, do you think of the cost?  Of course you do!  That is why we are always using coupons, and searching for the best sales because we always want to spend the least amount we need to.  Why do we do this?  Sometimes it’s because we have a tight budget, but I think that in our minds we are always weighing out the cost verses the worth.  We are asking ourselves the question, “Is this worth the cost?”

I love this quote because it helps me think about the cost of our decisions.  Do we spend time to think about what it’s going to cost?  I think that so many people think that when you have to follow your heart that you do it in an instant.  Following your heart is living in the moment, going from one thing to the next because that is what you’re are feeling.  It’s not always that way.  Planning your life to make your dreams come true is a great thing.  The misconception that people have with this idea is that once you start thinking about following your heart too long, it gives your brain time to accept logic and once that happens, you’ll never act on what your heart is telling you.  In reality, what happens is it allows doubt to settle in.  You start thinking about how your dream is not logic, or how you will fail.  You doubt yourself.  Don’t let that happen!

You need to hold onto that warm great feeling you have every time you think of your dream.  Hold on to that happiness, that hope that it gives you.  Don’t let anyone talk you out of it, including yourself.  The minute you don’t choose the path that leads to your dream, that is when you decide that the cost is not worth your dream.  When in reality, it becomes the higher cost, because you will wish for the rest of your life that you had followed your heart.

Don’t make that mistake.  Live your life the way your heart imagined it

Your Greatest Work

How much do you like your job? Is it just a job or do you really enjoy what you do?  Steve Jobs said this quote.  

The greatest work you do in life will always be the things that you are passionate about.  I know I’ve talked a lot about passions before, but bear with me for just a moment.  Ask yourself this question, “What do I like to do?”  Take a moment to think of a few things.  Now that you have those in mind, think of why do you like those things. Is it for fun? Entertainment? Or does it just make you happy?

Of course it makes you happy. That is why they are your passions!  If you think that one of your passions aren’t suitable for a job, then keep looking. Perhaps you haven’t found a key passion in your life. I know it’s hard to imagine that working at a computer all day, or working at a grocery store fulfills your soul, however, you never know until you try it or the people that you will meet.  Most people think that living your passions has to be something big, such as becoming an actor, businessman or author.  It doesn’t have to be. It can be through small ways of being a student’s favorite elementary school teacher, to creating beautiful landscaping.

There was a business man that came to my classes and told us the story of how he became involved with the medical field and found his passion within it. Growing up he never liked any science or biology classes.  His heart was intent on building a business and so he put all his energy into learning everything he could about it.  He started with a small business at first, then moved to other bigger ones.  As his career went on, he stumbled across this medical business that was failing and through turning it around found his love in helping people medically.  And now that is where he focuses his life around.

The last part of this quote talks about how your heart will lead you to what your passions are.  This is such a perfect example of how this happens.  We may not know all of our passions in life, or what we’re meant to become unless we believe in ourselves and follow our hearts. That is the only true way for full happiness. Nothing is too small to count and nothing is too big or too far out of your reach. Never stop your search for your greatest work ever.