Living your life according to what is most meaningful and fulfilling to YOU is truly a radical act. We all allow ourselves to be shaped by the expectations from those around us. Societal norms as well as opinions of family, friends and others around us influence the choices we make on a daily basis. Of course they do. The problem arises when we allow others’ expectations to limit the extent to which we are fully living OUR lives. Often we are unaware, and it can be hard to admit, even to ourselves, just how many choices we are making according to what we think is expected of us. We end up tucking away our life’s dreams in the “maybe sometime later” pocket. So WHY don’t we go for our dreams?
What makes it radical? In order to (re-)discover and clarify your dreams you need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n ... - and that in itself can feel scary and radical in this fast paced world we live in. When you dare to dream and take time to get really clear about what you want – dare to imagine the best case scenario – you will realize that you have a choice, the choice to either take steps to follow that dream or not! Dreaming big feels vulnerable because we might then end up disappointing ourselves. We get our hopes up and then we don’t pursue those dreams. What a gut punch! Allowing this truest version for yourself to emerge and pursuing to live the fullest version of YOUR life is a radical act because you have to own up to living YOUR unique, and most fulfilling life. This means making choices in your DAILY life that support your life goals and dreams (to whatever extent those are clear to you right now), whether "popular" or not, whether easy or not. It is a radical act because, quite frankly, most people don’t. How to clarify your dream and start living it As you start imagining this best case scenario for your life, your dream, you will likely start hearing internal voices protesting and coming up with all sorts of reasons why it would not be possible. He/she will object… “that's not realistic…”, “there is no way… “, and list excuses “if only….” Then take advantage of those objections and excuses. Play with them using this formula: If only___________ (I had the time/money/courage/skill… perceived lack or obstacle) Then I would_________________ What would you do? Who would you be? How would you live your life? Assume you have overcome those obstacles and describe how you're living as vividly and fully as possible. Connect to it emotionally. Allow yourself to fantasize and DREAM. What is the essence of your dream? What deeply matters to you about it? Get into action Once you have "juiced up" your dream and connected with its essence, think of ONE thing you can do TODAY that adds some of that essence to your day. One action that takes you ever so slightly toward that dream. When you are more emotionally connected to your dream, you are more likely to be motivated to do something that takes you in that direction. Do one thing TODAY. Do one thing TOMORROW… keep going. Keep refining. Create YOUR most authentic life - the way YOU want to live it - step by step. You've GOT THIS! What gets in YOUR way? Let me know. I’d really like to know. Comment below, or email me ([email protected]). Ulrika is the creator of the “Making Time” program – a holistic time management approach rooted in Agile principles and practices. She supports successful professionals who want a more balanced approach toward living a truly fulfilling life. She takes her clients through an exploration to discover what's truly most important to them, and then teach/coach them in how to prioritize and take focused action in alignment with those deeper values.
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AuthorAs a Holistic Time Management coach Ulrika reflects on ways to live our every day on purpose - with agility. Archives
June 2018
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