Owning Yourself

Whose Life Are You Living?

“The individual has always struggled to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” Friedrich Nietzsche

Sooner or later, there will be a question that shows up in your mind that you can’t answer. You’ll dismiss it many times, but it will keep coming back. It will be like a rock in your shoe or a thorn in your side.

At first, it’s just a bit of irritation but left undealt with; it becomes a blister that becomes a sore that develops into a severe infection.

The question that we all face at some point in our life is this:?Is this what life is all about for me??Indeed there’s more to life than this!?Where have I gone wrong? What can I do? What can I change? I don’t want my life to continue like this.

We’ve all experienced it. The frustration, anxiety, lack of fulfillment, doubt, and indecision that comes with this line of thinking. It doesn't help that this thinking shows up with monotonous regularity, haunting our thoughts and creating doubt and despair.

And they continue to show up?until you CHANGE something.

Living Authentically

We need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity. — Barbara de Angelis

Most people want to live a peaceful, happy, and successful life when they get right down to it. You want to make some money, spend time with the people you care about, and do things that make your heart sing.

In other words, you want to live a Happy, Authentic Life. To quote Gandhi,?Authenticity is the inevitable outcome of when what you think, say, and do are in harmony.

How different would it be if you woke up each morning with a smile, jumped out of bed, and couldn’t wait to get at what makes you truly happy? Like you did when you were a kid, and the carnival was in town, remember?

Living life like this IS possible, but it starts with removing some of the things and people in your life that are no longer serving you.

Here are some of those things:

• You’ve known people who don't have your best interests in mind for a long time.
• Places you frequently visit that remind you of mistakes and failures of your past.
• Activities you may have been involved in for years that are no longer purposeful or intentional as far as moving you towards the future you envision for yourself.
• Old habits, thoughts, and expectations. In other words, your limiting beliefs are keeping you from becoming your best self.

The beauty of this will begin when you see evidence of life coming to your rescue. You will begin to develop your belief muscle, and in no time, you will be making bigger and better choices, wiser decisions that will be in harmony with your deepest desires.

You’ll start making decisions a bit outside your comfort zone, and then the process begins to unfold.

What Do You Need to Let Go?

“Until you let go of all the toxic things and people in your life, you will never be able to grow into your fullest potential. Let them go so you can grow.”

These words are easier said than done. You become so attached to things, people, and dangerous feelings and emotions, that your life becomes consumed and bogged down.

You become disabled to the point of paralyzation with things and people that are no longer useful or needed in your life.

The pain and trauma in your life are there because you’re holding onto things that are hurting you — in a strange way, you find it comforting to hold on to these things and people even though they're hurting you, rather than risk letting them go.

Consider these thoughts:

People.?If there are people in your life affecting your ability to experience joy and happiness, it’s time to let them go.?But Mike, What if they're close friends? What if they're family?

If you want to live a happy, authentic life, it will be essential for you to face the reality of who's causing your unhappiness, pain, and anxiety.

Places.?What about the places you visit or frequent? Are there places you go for entertainment, social recreation, or employment that you don’t enjoy? If you’re not happy when you walk in and not comfortable when you come out, stop going there!

Thoughts.?What do you spend your time thinking about? Is your mind permeated with doom and gloom? Do your thoughts create anxiety, fear, disappointment, or even anger? Why dwell on any of that? How can that possibly be serving you?

All the people, places, and experiences you allow to continue weighing you down will have to go.?No amount of success, drive, or positive thinking will change anything for you until you face this real problem.

Every person, place, and activity that isn’t making you happy are like heavy stones you're putting in a backpack and carrying around with your every day. You’re not going to get far before the weight drags you down.

Life then becomes extremely heavy and hard. Every day becomes a painful chore, and the backpack of life eventually becomes too heavy for you to lift. Everything becomes a hassle, a struggle. And you wonder why your life is so hard?

So, What Happens When You Start Living Authentically?

“Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you’re supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self.” —?Dr. Phil

You start thinking of people, places, and things that make you happy.

You begin to make choices to visit places and people that maybe you haven’t seen for a while, people that make you feel good about yourself. You start to re-engage with them and in the activities you enjoy.

You find yourself smiling during the day for no reason at all.?Life suddenly feels lighter. You feel capable of letting go of thoughts you neither want nor need. And replace them with powerful positive thoughts about yourself and your future.

For the first time in a long time, you begin to experience JOY through your thoughts and feelings.?You notice that, without any conscious effort on your part, you have no attachment to the people, places, or things that no longer serve you. Letting them go becomes effortless.

Living authentically becomes easy; as your awareness of all things authentic within you becomes more apparent, your ability to reject things that are not aligned with who you are and your authentic self increases exponentially.

You start making new friends.?New people start to come into your life who align with your new fresh way of thinking. People who see you for the fantastic person you are. People who encourage you to become the person you're capable of becoming.

You begin seeking new adventures.?Opportunities to experience new activities that you have never previously thought you would or could do and know you are excited about trying them.

You learn and discover.?Your interest in learning new things awakens, and you become fascinated by the idea of learning new skills.

The people you meet while learning these new skills will resonate directly with your heart and you will feel at home.

Once you start living authentically, your frustration, anxiety, fear, and doubt are replaced with optimism, enthusiasm, positivity, and fulfillment in all that you’re doing.

Life starts to seem simpler. The sun seems to shine bigger and brighter and more often. People begin to say you look and sound different.

Slowly, you find yourself in a better, happier, more authentic place. You start attracting people to you that you want to spend time with.

At the same time, you are beginning the process of becoming someone you would want to have in your life. You become the person who personifies the qualities you most desire in the people you want around you.

You begin to exhibit the qualities and values that you most admire in your daily life. This starts when you decide that YOU are worth it and deserve to be THIS happy.

Do it for you. Own your life and yourself.

Interested in becoming the best version of yourself? Schedule a 15 min. visit to learn more about becoming who YOU were meant to be.?(click the link below.)

https://calendly.com/mintsmichael070/15min