Our Most Powerful Personal Freedom

As we approach Independence Day, we can all agree that the world seems to be in a state of chaos and uncertainty.

While this is certainly not the first time that humanity has gone through extreme chaos, it is the first time that we are bombarded 24/7 with information, images, videos, and artificially created algorithms & content that manipulate our social media feeds and our minds. What is happening globally - or what we are told is happening regardless of its truth based on the creator's motives - shows up in our conscious, unconscious, and subconscious minds whether we want to see it or not.

There is a proven correlation between how we feel within and what is happening externally. This is no surprise; everyone and everything on this planet is connected through energy.

Recall how you feel when you are experiencing a beautiful ocean sunrise on a deserted beach versus a traffic jam due to a serious accident. Both of these experiences are external, and yet how you feel internally is vastly different.

What can we do - what can we remember and what can we access within - when things feel overwhelming?

As someone who has come through a lot of chaos in both my personal and professional life, the most grounding practices for me have always been my spiritual practices. These include almost 30 years of meditation, breathwork, guided visualization, and studies of ancient spiritual wisdom through many teachers. They have been my lifelines in my most difficult times.

My 42 years of a disciplined fitness regimen (since I was 15) has also been instrumental in my strong mental state.

Through all of my challenges, I have worked to keep a strong mindset... to believe that life happens FOR us rather than TO us, to choose faith over fear, to trust that I have what I need within in me to endure, to persevere, and to emerge stronger.

THIS is one of the most important personal freedoms that resides within all of us - to choose in any moment how we will react, how we will respond, how we will be empowered or disempowered by any circumstance. EVERY moment affords us this privilege and opportunity.

One of my most inspiring teachers is Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who lost his family to extermination. He wrote his book, "Man's Search for Meaning" while IN the camps.

As we approach Independence Day, it is so important to remember the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that our country provides for every U.S. citizen.

It is also an opportunity for you to reflect on a personal level how much you are allowing your own peace of mind and state of being to be influenced, controlled, and manipulated by others that do not have your best interests at heart.

You alone decide how you respond to people, experiences, events, circumstances, and content that comes into your life - either consciously or unconsciously. We can not control how others present themselves, or what they say or do. We can control our responses.

I wish everyone a peaceful and reflective holiday, and a day in which you create the space in your life to see all that life has given you through the lens of gratitude. For it is gratitude that always turns what we have into enough.

Sending love and light to all.

Marissa

PS: I recently launched my monthly newsletter The Joyful Journey. I invite you to join our community of those committed to exploring the path to Joy. You may join here: https://zc.vg/IPXxq

About the Author

Marissa is a 5x, 30-year entrepreneur, speaker, best-selling author, mindset expert, and globally recognized growth & spiritual strategist. She was one of Inc. Magazine's most read leadership columnists, and was recognized as one of the Top 200 Biggest Voices of Leadership globally for 2023.

Following the sale of her company Successful Culture International, Marissa launched Marissa International,?a global speaking, training, and coaching organization to help leaders live their most joyful lives and build their best companies. Marissa is passionate about educating and empowering leaders, teams, organizations, and communities. Reach out if you believe your people, members, and communities would benefit from guidance and wisdom to live a more empowered, conscious, and joyful life.

She is also CEO and co-founder of i5 Conscious Leadership,?a leadership education, coaching, and consulting firm. Through a robust leadership curriculum that educates leaders at all levels, i5 Conscious Leadership bridges self-consciousness and organizational consciousness for leaders that are committed to creating exceptional employee engagement and business growth. i5 serves the federal, commercial, and nonprofit sectors.

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