In Honour of Your Freedom (Part 1)

(2014 March 28) Inspired by Nisha Moodley’s Fierce Fabulous Free blog post “

Lessons from a year of courage

”, I’ve only included here what complements my message, but I hope you get time to read it yourself.

You – Put “ME” On That Checklist

Put

“ME”

at the top of your checklist – enjoying “me”, grooming “me”, loving “my” appearance, exercising, eating healthily, drinking water, learning “me” – simply being “me”. Every aspect of “ME” is

critical to your success,

so you need to be consciously “ME”. It is a whole version of YOU that

can recognize and enjoy success when it comes.

YOU are important.

Boundaries – Not Walls

ME-time reveals

boundaries,

your comforts and perceived limitations. Sure “get out of your comfort zone” to explore your potential, but

‘know your comfort zone’ first.

Boundaries keep you

safe, comfortable

and

confident in your

right to be

– spirit, soul (mind, emotions) and body – while allowing you to

let the right experiences and people

in – or out.

Walls keep whatever’s inside in, and whatever’s outside out; you don’t want that.

Get to know YOU – THEN you’ll be more effective at saving the world.

Live Courageously

Courage is not the absence of fear,

but the drive to push through it. Being true to yourself about your

emotions, thoughts, underlying beliefs

that drive you, goes a long way in helping you

face and then conquer your fears.

Common fears:

Forget failure – fear of

success,

fear of

man

and fear of

emotions.

However impossible your dream,

you will never know what’s possible unless you try.

If you don’t, that will be your greatest regret at 90. Fear of man

(people’s disapproval of your ‘audacity’)

should never hold you back. Emotions – no, no – not just the ladies. This fear is even greater for men.

Emotional IQ (EQ)

is a most sought after leadership trait because when you can

manage your own emotions,

it makes you very effective at dealing with others’ emotions.

No need to run from your fears. Face them and do it anyway.

Learn the Right Lessons

Don’t learn the wrong lessons

from your experiences.

Learn the empowering lessons.

Scenario: You fall off a horse.

Lessons:

This is dangerous. I should be more careful. I should stop riding horses. So often we have an experience and we say,

"I’ll never do ‘X’ again".

Now that that wall is up, what happens when the perfect opportunity comes and “X” is what’s needed to get it?

Learn the empowering lessons and start implementing.

Have One “Thing” You Won’t Give Up

As a workaholic, I can genuinely relate to what Nisha talks about in her

6th Lesson, “It’s good to have a “thing””

.

Working all the time makes you boring

– even if work is fun. I work in social media; boring = sure death.

My one thing is Dance.

I cannot explain the things dance – its kinetics, expression, choreography – does to and for me.

What is your one thing? Why not just do it?

Acknowledge Your Broken Heart

Whether it’s

a break up,

or

the loss of a loved one,

'to thine own self be true.'

In

acknowledging every single feeling

as it comes, you're able to face it. You will heal faster than if you'd tried to bury it. That would be like

trapping a wild cat inside,

rather than letting it out and keeping an eye on it.

The claws will do far more damage inside than out.

If you're true, not letting pride or ego hold on to rage and resentment,

love truly is the outcome of healing.

KEEP DREAMING

It is so easy to lose sight of your vision,

when the horizon doesn't look anything like the image in your head.

It's easier still when you don't

make the time to dream often enough.

The human imagination is among the most powerful things anywhere.

You are your only limitation.

You will be surprised what solutions come when you rest – remove anxiety – silence your negative thoughts (the hard part) and just let options come freely.

NEVER STOP DREAMING.

PART 2 OF HONOURING YOUR FREEDOM

Before you run

to part 2

,

I want you to really

take the time (21-30 days)

to process this and work it into your schedule. Find out who you are, what you're comfortable with and what you want - what freedom means to you - then go into you with others.

Part 2 addresses the role of Community in attaining Freedom.

Which makes you happier? Why

Heading In? Heading Out?

I was going to write a blog post about this, but I think

the question

causes far more

introspection.

Have fun!

Do You Really Want It

Today!

You psych yourself up to

pursue your dreams hard today.

You get started on an

immense high.

Suddenly, thoughts of competition, workload or obstacles bring you crashing down, so you step back and say

"tomorrow".

S

ound familiar? By now you know you're not alone. It's not a cliche,

it's the truth.

Do You Really Want It

You

absolutely must ask

yourself

"Do I really want it? How will "it" affect your life, today, tomorrow? What is the permanent opportunity cost?"

Do you still want it? The answer is:

"Yes"

,

"Yes, but not right now"

or

"No"

. Not maybe.

Decide. Do you want this?

Whether you

write

it,

envision

it or

talk to yourself

about it,

make the time to decide

 if you really want it and

make the decision permanent - commit.

Want It versus Feel Like It

Once you've decided that you really want

this - business | healthy eating habits | firm body | healthy marriage | family relationship

- you're not looking back.

You want this...but you're not going to feel that wayevery day.

Nothing I've mentioned above comes without hard work, and

you've never worked as hard as you're going to work for this.

Such is the true nature of dreams.

[

Cliche:

Nothing worth anything was ever easy.]

Summary: Do You Really Want It - Here's How To Go Get It

Importance of Motivation

I'm very visual and words are important to me so, for me,

Pinterest

is a God-send, when used wisely. I have created an

Inspiration Board

,

a 

Vision Board

 (hidden) 

and a

God Board

, that I look at whenever I start talking myself down or

procrastinating.

You have to find what works for you:

Develop a short speech you say every morning & when your resolve wanes | Listen to speeches | Take long walks | Write | Daydream about success | Run (Ha, ha. No, not 'run away' :p)

Do whatever it takes to motivate you - nothing is too weird.

[

Key: Commit a short time to doing that, then get back to the task at hand.

]

Importance of Support Systems

Support

is a funny word. Many will say the words, but many of those will keep bringing the "practical reality" your way, and it will always sound like

a list of "reasons you can't".

Run. I can't say it strongly or loudly enough.

RUN. They will keep you back.

Find people

that

you trust

,

that

believe in

what you're going for and will only provide

advice to propel you

forward. Spend most of your "people" time with them.

Find people

who've

succeeded at something crazy

or 'impossible', who are still optimistic about possibility, and have tea with them once a month.

That is reality.

Importance of Alone Time

Even if you hate being alone, you need this time to be productive. Having people around is great, but if this is your dream

you have to make time to do it.

You also have to commit to simply

making time to be with yourself;

to hear and face your own thoughts. [

Read:

Why Productive People Have Empty Schedules

. Not literally, perhaps, but good.]

Don't Look Back

None of this will "come naturally". You have to

form new habits

to commit to

alone time,

implement these

motivational changes

and develop those

support systems.

It's an uphill climb, but we've already decided that

it's worth it. Right?

[

Start today:

10 Reasons to Stop What You're Doing & Start Clearing Your Clutter

.]

More Support Online

If you'd like continuous

support for your dreams,

find more online:

Twitter

,

Pinterest

, Facebook Page

Entrepreneurs Courage

. 

I hate the new lack of privacy on social media, but I love encouraging others, so here's to my being a little open.

Live Out Loud Everyday Starting Today

I will start by thanking +Fast Company for their Google Plus post, 

There Are 5 Types Of Boredom. Which Are You Feeling?

, and +Michael A Wells, for his response, that he feels #4 everyday. Life is far too short for all of us to be imprisoned in 'existence' by our own minds. 

You have imprisoned yourself. How are you going to change it?

As someone who starts most things by thinking, planning or making lists, I say:

1. Create your vision: be it a vision board, a bucket list or one thing you always wanted to do.

2. Find out what it takes: brainstorm the list of steps you'd honestly need to take to make your vision a reality - time, energy, resources, activities, mindsets, everything you can think of.

3. Get organized: arrange this list in order of feasible timelines, categories or any pattern that makes it easy for you to follow. If it's overwhelming; simplify. Include 'change mindset'; eliminate your "I can't". 

4. Talk to yourself: seriously. you may or may not have a support system to help you along, so you are your support system. Throughout the process, remind yourself daily of where you're going.

5. Take micro-steps: leap where you can, but start with baby steps (one day at a time). Remember, a habit takes 21-30 days to be formed, or broken.

6. Track your progress: whether it's a physical journal, a digital checklist from your "Get organized" section, or your own invention, use something to track what you've accomplished along the way.

7. Pray: I include this because it's on my personal list, but whatever you believe, step back from your current situation to look at the big picture - the possibilities are endless when you're looking from afar. 

Dreams are big, and

anything worth something takes work.

 Reward yourself along the way to stay motivated. You've seen this 100, maybe more, times in your life, in various forms.

Just Do It.

This may be an iterative process, if you do it right. You may start small, but as you do more introspection, you'll start realizing there's no reason to dream small.

This is WINTER but SPRING is coming - Are You Ready?

After I write this post, I'm going to continue implementing as well. I've already started with my

Vision Board on Pinterest

(thanks to the advice of my friend Paulina N.) [You can see my other boards at the link provided, but my actual Vision Board is private.]

Some inspirational reading:

I specifically point to the books, not the authors. You may not appreciate the authors or support many of the philosophies presented, but at least they get you to dream a bit bigger:

1. The Art of Non-Conformity by Christopher Guillebeau

2. The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Note:

Returning to the article that prompted this post, a word to all generations - X, Y, Z, Baby Boomers, etc -

live and let live.

Stop attacking each other, in particular, stop attacking the

Millennials (Generation-Y).

Their economic reality includes

a whole lot of "NO":

no job stability,

no jobs if not self-created,

no salary that can fund home ownership

in this lifetime,

and a number of other realities that the other generations haven't had to deal with. Perhaps the parents of the Baby Boomers get it. If you destroy the confidence of the next generation because you have to "put them in their place", there'll be no one left to take care of you. The "arrogance" and "entitlement" is perhaps what they need to survive their reality.