This week is something of a milestone. My ex, the ex (we all have one) is getting married. And, it’s not to me – thank goodness. It was a long time ago that we were together. But knowing he’s hitched to someone else makes me realise just how far we’ve both come.
When we were together the relationship gave me a lot, after all he was an amazing man, but it sheltered me in a place where it didn’t feel possible to pursue personal dreams. So we split up.
Taking A Leap Of Faith
While there will always be compromise in life, there are things that stir and sing to our soul so strongly it becomes impossible to ignore. There are some things we cannot overlook and contain, not even for love – even if we can’t see sense in it at the time.
Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith, let our wings unfurl and walk away from what we know in favour of discovering something we don’t. Life is too long to be miserable and too short not to take a chance from time to time, even if that makes us feel a little uncomfortable and afraid.
We need to forget the doubts and the fears that hold us back and cultivate the courage that will enable us to flourish, thrive and live the happy and fulfilling lives that fill our dreams.
Closing The Gap
Back then mine was a life provincial. It looked like everyone else’s. But my dreams and desires were fuelled by exciting global adventures, foreign travel, a life lived on foreign shores, new faces and alternative attitudes and perspectives. We each have so much potential yet all too often there is a gap between what we’re capable of and what we do.
So I want to share with you a few ways and tips on how you can close that gap. Here goes:
- Dream Big – Let your mind wander. Consider what you could do if the possibilities were limitless.
- Strive To Feel Alive – Consider, and think about what makes you feel most alive.
- Forward Thinking – Consider your options in the context of how they will impact you if you achieved your goals.
- Plan – Consider where you are and where you want to be. Then come up with a step by step plan to take you from A to B, even adding time frames if that is appropriate.
- Keep It Simple – Make sure you really break thing down into achievable and realistic milestones that will be sure to take you towards your dreams.
- Take action – Don’t be afraid of making decisions and taking action – there is no magic solution to get you to where you want to be. Just keep swimming and chalk it all down to experience.
- Fail – Embracing failure is part of the path to success.
- Stay present – Don’t let any attachment to your goals take you away from the present. Learn to be happy with where you are, and look and listen for the lessons that come with experience. It is exactly these insights that will inform and guide your future.
Like everything, fulfilling our dreams takes practice. But since that day when I finally walked away, I have been the keeper of my own destiny. And the truth is, many of the things I’ve achieved and the shifts I’ve survived could not have happened with another by my side.
Marianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
