Okay … so you have your dream, your vision of a life you would love. Why is it so difficult to manifest that dream? Six things need to change before you are ready to fully live that new life:
- Shift Your Perception
- Increase Your Sense of Deserving
- Face Your Fears
- Feed Your Faith
- Increase Your Awareness of Abundance
- Liberate Yourself Through Forgiveness
You will each have your own work to do in these areas that will be similar to, but not actually the same as, someone else’s. There’s no way I can discuss all six of these needed changes in one fail swoop, so let’s take the first one – Shift Your Perception- for this article.
SHIFT YOUR PERCEPTION
Our thought patterns and behaviors may not always be in harmony with the life we want to live because of the following:
- We focus on lack and limitation, yet yearn for abundance
- We hold thoughts of resentment when we desire to have more love
- We conduct ourselves in mental, emotional, and physical ways that are out of harmony with the vision we want to pursue
There are defining moments in everyone’s life. You may think of them as “chapters”. One of the chapters in my life occurred when I was 27 years old. I had been teaching in a high school in Colorado for the previous 4 years. One of my colleagues – a woman named Donna – and I became best friends. Neither of us was content with our teaching careers, largely because of the administration’s resistance to change. So, we packed up what we could haul in our two cars, putting the rest of our stuff in storage, and headed down the highway! We had no jobs to go to, but we were young and adventurous.
Our destination was Oregon. Now 40 years later, I still live in Oregon. I love it here, my children and grandchild live here and, though I love Colorado and visit there once or twice a year, I love being able to live near the ocean. That is still one of my top reasons for staying here, along with many more.
Me in Oregon taking photos of my favorite place – Pacific Ocean
Me as a teacher (on the right) with my friend, Donna, directing a school play practice.
Changing my location at 28 was definitely a turning point for me in many ways. I changed jobs and careers. Later, I got married and had children. I put down roots. I owned my own business starting in 1994. I would call the chapter when I was 27, “The Adventurer”. Now, looking back at that defining moment, I realize how momentous that change was. If I had stayed in Colorado and possibly continued my career in education, how would my life have been different?
Until the recent past, I did focus more on what I didn’t have, felt resentment towards people who “got in my way”, and sometimes conducted myself in ways that I regret. If I had hung onto those perceptions, I would be very unhappy at this point in my life.. But I have shifted my perception. I now think about the “bad” things that happened since that move to Oregon in a different light. They allowed me to grow and evolve into who I am today.
What’s a “chapter title” in your life that you would like to give new meaning? If you care to share, please comment below and let us know how the meaning has changed from when it happened.
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