What happens when you stop putting your “real life” on hold and instead embrace the course your life is taking right now? How would that change your life and the lives of those around you?
To live life to the fullest without allowing your circumstances to inhibit you emanates from a deep appreciation for your existence and that of each and every person in your life. When you start to appreciate your life and fully absorb the moments it contains today instead of waiting for “one day” – one day when you feel you’ve earned it or when the chips fall in place and everything becomes “perfect,” there is a dramatic change that takes place within you: You start living your life on purpose.
Living Life Purposefully
A business mentor once told me something that has stuck with me for years – “One day doesn’t exist.” Many of us convince ourselves that “one day” we’re going to rise up and live fully. One day when we’ve accomplished some goal that we’ve set for ourselves by which we dictate our own worth. But one day never comes and we keep procrastinating away our lives, never reaching our true potential. Life is happening now, we can either live it purposefully or waste it foolishly.
This is why we must internalize the hard reality that nothing will change unless we take direct action. Only you can change you. No person or accomplishment can validate you if you can’t first see it within yourself. So how do you actually get out of your own way and stop holding off your real existence to start living your purpose?
Be Your Own Source of Validation
Are you afraid of starting a business because there’s a chance you might not succeed? Is there a passion that you want to fearlessly pursue but you’re being held back by what others might think? Remember that you’re the only person who can give you permission – stop looking at other people for permission, validation or acceptance. Allow yourself to act without external reassurance. If you struggle to find the reassurance within yourself, start relying on blind faith. Believe fully in yourself and take purposeful action as if you’re certain you’ll succeed — until you are certain you’ll succeed! As long as you give yourself permission to start, you’ll naturally uncover a course of action.
Give Yourself Permission to be Happy TODAY
Your life doesn’t have to be perfect right now, and no matter how green someone else’s grass may seem, the reality is that it will never be perfect. So why put your life on hold for something that may never unfold the way you want it to?
Instead of waiting for the “perfect life,” celebrate your daily wins; those little pieces of perfection you craft out each and every day of your life. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, celebrate your small wins each day, such as when you eat properly, exercise or drink more. Give yourself permission to be happy in that moment, with that action, not just when you’ve reached your ultimate goal.
When you make these changes in your life you are instituting one of the highest forms of self-care and you’ll see it in every aspect of your life. You’ll start doing what energizes you and makes you happy, not just what you think you should be doing. You’ll no longer wait for permission or base your happiness around another person’s approval. You’ll start making better decisions and thinking about the long term. You’ll no longer be a leaf in the wind, you’ll be rooted like a tree – and that means you’ll actually start growing.
Remember this core principle: “you’re there when you do it.” No matter what your goals are – starting a business, traveling the world, starting a family – you’re there when you do it. You don’t have to wait until you’re 5 years older or you’ve finished school – if you do it right now you are instantly there. You only have to give yourself permission to act, and that is how you correct the course of your life and finally start living your purpose.