Choosing Life My Way

There Always Is A Way
So Never Give Up

There is a way. Don’t let anyone tell you that there is no way you can have what you want, or do what you want. There is always a way!

The old saying goes, ‘where there’s a will, there is a way.’This can account for why many people never discover the way to reach their dreams- they lose their will to find a way. Discovering how to achieve your goal is not so difficult, if you can hold on to your will to succeed. You need to want something badly enough to ignore the obstacles you will undoubtedly encounter. To keep your eyes on the ‘prize,’ and to keep persisting in getting to where you want to be.

In the words of Winston Churchill, “never, never, never, never give up.” If you heed this advice, and keep your goal firmly in mind, you will find that there is a way.

If you do give up, you will not be able to truthfully declare that ‘there is no way,’ only that you gave up before you found the way. There might be 999 ways that will not work for you, and if you quit at that or before, you will not discover that the thousandth way does work. Keep going until you find a way that works.

Even the ways that don’t work will teach you many things.

Edison claimed that he didn’t have failures- he succeeded in discovering thousands of ways that a light bulb could not be made! What an empowering way to look at ‘failures.’ His positive attitude allowed him to persist, until he finally found the way that did work.

Are there things in your life that you tried to achieve, but gave up after a few, or many, attempts that didn’t work? If you had kept trying, you might have found the way that does work by now. How would that have changed the way your life is today?

Well, it is never too late to try again. You can dust off those, as yet, unfulfilled dreams or goals, and start trying again. Just don’t expect that your first or even fiftieth attempt will succeed. It might. You might strike it lucky, and find the way that works on one of your first attempts. If this happens though, you will be among the minority.

Most goals, especially most big goals, take time and repeated attempts. This is why so many people ‘fail’ to reach their dreams. They don’t really fail, they just stop trying. They think that if something doesn’t work quickly enough, it is not going to work, or that it is not worth the effort.

If something is ‘not worth the effort’ of trying again and again until you find that there is a way that works, you can’t have wanted it very badly. Isn’t fulfilment and happiness worth a lifelong effort?

I truly believe that there is a way to have everything we want in life. It is just not always possible to have things as quickly as we might like.

Sometimes this is because what we want at a certain point in our lives is actually not what is for our highest good, and we need more time to fine-tune our ideas of what would really make us happy.

Have you ever had a burning desire to have or do something, and upon achieving it quickly, found that it really wasn’t what you expected after all?

Another reason that things might take time is that we are not ready to have them yet. We may need some more mental or physical preparation to be able to adjust to the reality of a dream coming true. The universe gently withholds things that are not truly right for us, unless having these things will teach us valuable life lessons.

Often we know the essence of what we want, but need time to become clear about what form this will take.

You might know that you want to make a positive difference in the lives of people around you. Knowing this much is a good start, but until you can become clear about how you want to achieve this goal, it will be difficult for you to find a way that works for you. Knowing what you want is a very big part of having it. If all you have are vague longings for ‘something better,’ don’t be surprised that you are not getting any closer to fulfillment.

If you get very clear about what you want, you will discover that there is a way to have it. Make sure that what you want is for your highest good, and is also for the good of others.

Believe that you can have what you want. Set out to achieve your goal, and keep trying until you reach it.

When you find it hard to believe that there is a way to do something, just give it one more try. One day that ‘one more try’ will be the way that works.

If you believe in yourself and the perfect order of the universe, and you never give up, you cannot fail to succeed!

No Limits on How High We Can Soar

There are no limits on most things in life, except for the limits we put on ourselves with our beliefs.

Believe it or not, there is no limit to how happy you can be, how much money you can make, how many people you can help, how much love you can experience. If you believe that there is a limit on these and other things, then your belief is what is limiting you.

Limiting beliefs create our own internal ‘glass ceilings.’ If you are convinced that a certain income is all that is possible for you, what are the chances that you are earning more than that now?

Are you stopping yourself from reaching a wider range of people with your gifts and your love because you believe that you can only exist in a very small circle?

To limit is to restrict, restrain, and prevent from reaching higher and further. A limit is a wall, an obstacle, a barrier, or a boundary. Do you really want to spend your life restrained and restricted? And by your own thinking, at that!

If the only thing that is stopping you from experiencing unlimited success, happiness, and abundance is all in your mind- your thinking- it stands to reason that changing your thinking is a good idea.

Of course doing that is not as simple as it sounds. Changing long-held beliefs and reprogramming your thinking takes time, patience, and persistence. Any change also takes courage and a willingness to change.

Most people are too set in their ways, and too afraid of change to make the effort needed to rid themselves of their negative thinking and limiting beliefs. So they convince themselves that the limits they have placed on themselves really exist.

Breaking conditioning is a challenge, and we have conditioned our minds throughout our lives with notions of ‘possible and ‘impossible.’ We need to reprogramme our minds to accept that we can enjoy a life with no limits.

Even animals are greatly affected by conditioning. It is said that if an elephant has been chained up for a period of time, and then the chains are removed the elephant will stay within the boundaries that the chain enforced. It cannot get rid of the memory of being restricted, and believes that there is no point in trying to ‘break free.’

Don’t be like that elephant. Make a decision to remove the invisible chains of your limiting beliefs, and once the chains are gone, accept and embrace your new, limitless existence.

There is a story that one way to trap a monkey is to put a jar of candies nearby. The monkey will put its hand into the jar to take a handful of candies, but then when its fist is full it can’t get its hand back out of the jar. The monkey is trapped by a handful of ‘goodies’ that it won’t even get to taste.

How many times do we act like that monkey, trapping ourselves in limiting situations by grabbing hold of seemingly desirable ‘rewards’ and refusing to let go- even when we cannot enjoy the ‘rewards’?

If a ‘desirable’ job is taking up most of your time, stressing you out, and giving you little or no satisfaction, maybe you need to consider letting go of the high salary and prestige in order to get your hand out of that jar and get your freedom back.

Believing that there is a limit to how much we can have in our lives is not logical. Is there any proof that it is impossible for you to make more money, to do work you love, to reach out to dozens of people rather than just a few?

If you are tired of staying trapped under the glass ceiling of your own making, decide to eliminate your limits.

Changing your beliefs can be done. Affirmations are a powerful tool in making changes, and there is support to be found; both in online and physical networks. Look for mentors and try to surround yourself with people who are choosing to break free rather than those who are choosing to stay trapped.

Speed limits can be useful, but happiness limits are just plain silly. There are no limits in how great life can be, unless you choose to limit yourself. Everything you need is within you. Choose freedom and make the sky the limit (or don’t even stop there)!

Take a Chance to Be Happy

Take a chance. These words can be exciting or scary at times, and very rarely do we think of taking chances without some feelings of apprehension. Chance can seem to imply win or lose, succeed or fail, do or die.

Often, a chance offers an equivalent amount of potential reward as the perceived risk involved. If you take only small risks or chances, it is unlikely that you will end up achieving a huge payoff from these actions. That is okay though, it is far better to take a chance- even a small one, than to avoid stepping out of your comfort zone at all.

By avoiding taking a chance, you are choosing to stay trapped in the reality of your current circumstances. If you are completely and utterly satisfied with every aspect of your life, then perhaps this is justified, but very few of us create the lives of our dreams without taking chances. A lot of chances.

By the time your dreams become realities, you will probably be very good at taking chances. Like most things in life, being willing and able to take a risk takes practice. If you dream of having something in your life, start giving yourself some chances to achieve it.

‘Taking’ chances can be seen in an active rather than passive way. Don’t sit back and wait for opportunities to drop into your lap. Go out and find them, or if you don’t find any ready-made, one-size-fits-all opportunities that feel right to you, then make your own!

It is also important to be on the lookout for opportunities that come to you. Many of us can become so focused on the trivial aspects of daily life, that we fail to notice even the most attractive possibilities that waft right past, under our noses. Wake up and smell the chances!

To take a chance can be perceived in two different ways.

One meaning of chance is, ‘an opportunity or a set of circumstances that makes it possible for something to happen.’ Without chance in this context, we would be doomed to remain in our existing situations, however dissatisfying they might be. The good news is, though, that there are always chances. Whether opportunities come to you, or whether you go out and create them yourself, as long as there is life, there are chances. Every day brings a fresh chance for unlimited possibilities- chances to live and laugh, to learn and grow.

The other meaning chance can have is ‘a gamble or other act involving uncertainty or risk.’ This element of risk is what can keep many of us from seizing, with both hands, the opportunities life offers. Risk is scary. The thing is though that risk is unavoidable. Just being alive holds inherent risks. To get out of bed in the morning is to take a chance. There are any number of things that might befall you when you venture out of your cocoon.

But, guess what? Staying in bed doesn’t eliminate those risks, and in fact presents a whole new set of risks. There is no way that you can embrace life and avoid risk. Trying to stay away from uncertainty only succeeds in blocking you from taking the chances- the opportunities- that offer you the possibilities of a life lived to the fullest.

Choose to take a chance, whenever you can, and you will find that the opportunities for happiness and fulfillment will far outweigh the risks. Give yourself a chance to live your best life!

Take the Challenge of
Living Life Your Way

Take the challenge. Do these words create motivation or dread when you hear them? There are undoubtedly some people who love a good challenge, and are always ready to take the bull by the horns, and dive into uncharted waters, but these people are in a minority. Many of us are willing, in theory, to take on a challenge, but when it comes to the reality, we often find any excuse- feasible or not- why we can’t tackle the daunting task that is facing us.

It is a common human reaction to avoid the unknown and the difficult; even when the familiar and the easy are stifling us and making us miserable. If you want to achieve growth, fulfillment, and happiness in life though, you are going to have to choose to take challenges on a regular basis, rather than choosing to remain stuck in a rut created by fear and a craving for certainty.

In fact, certainty is an illusion. The only thing certain in life is change and uncertainty. Refusing to take on challenges does not guarantee security, any more than hiding under the bed covers does. It simply stops us from learning, growing, and achieving our goals.

Self Motivation Means
Trusting That You Can Do It

To have the right self motivation is just as important as having motivation at all.

Fear can be an extremely powerful motivator, but actions that are motivated by fear very rarely bring the results we hope for.

For example, if your motivation in seeking love is a fear of being alone, it is unlikely that you will be able to create a healthy relationship.

Rather than being motivated by fear, find the right motivation to create a loving partnership. Focus on all the positive qualities that you can share with a partner. Develop a strong belief and confidence that you deserve to have a happy relationship, and that it is possible to have one. This will provide a healthy motivation to seek and attract the type of relationship that you truly want in your life.

To keep believing that you can have what you want in life is the foundation of positive motivation.

This right self motivation is also great at banishing fear.

Fear comes from the part of our minds that tells us we don’t deserve to be happy, that there is not enough of everything to go around, and that it is difficult or impossible to have what we truly want.

If we fail to trust the whispers of our higher selves which tell us to keep believing, and we listen to our fears instead, we will be easily motivated to make poor choices.

After all, if we can’t have what we really want, and there isn’t enough to go round, then we had better grab what we can, when we can, right?

Wrong! By allowing our fears to motivate us, we take actions and make choices that are not in line with our true desires.

Instead of being motivated by negative emotions and beliefs, seek the right motivation by listening to your heart and trusting your intuition. Look for inspiration both within your soul and around you. Believe that it is possible to have whatever you truly want, and that there is no need to act on fears. Just gently release those fears, and work on developing trust.

Healthy self motivation will not only bring you success, but happiness too!

Inspiration and Motivation
Make Us Unstoppable

Inspiration and motivation go hand in hand. They are both very helpful in enabling us to express our gifts and talents, and to live a purposeful life.

Inspiration is the sense of being filled with spirit and passion. Having a burning desire to create and express, and the feeling that we need, not just want, to take creative action. It is as if our need to use our talents takes on an energy all of its own, and demands release and fulfillment.

Motivation is, perhaps, the mental equivalent of inspiration. It is the will, and the drive, to take action. Motivation pushes us to get off the couch, and to take steps that bring us in line with our goals and desires.

Inspiration and motivation together are a formidable combination. If you are both inspired and motivated, then watch out world- you will be unstoppable!

The bad news is that not many of us are going to be overwhelmed by inspiration and motivation very often. If you wait for those moments of pure energy and drive to get you going, you might end up spending a lot of time on the couch.

The good news is that inspiration and motivation can be created. We don’t need to wait for a bolt of lightning from the heavens. Inspiration and motivation come from action, and action can be taken as a purely mechanical physical activity. Once you have pushed yourself to begin taking action, the motion will then take on its own momentum, and begin to create the motivation and enthusiasm to keep going. The first step is almost always the hardest. Remember that ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,’ but you must take that one step.

The motivation to continue with positive action will also provide the opportunities for the bursts of inspiration that bring flashes of brilliance and light up your work and your life. Just remember that this brilliance is the icing, and not the cake. The cake is made of dedication, commitment, and perseverance to creating something of lasting value for yourself and others.

As Thomas Edison said, ‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.’ Of course, to really enjoy success, we do need that 1%. Without it, we would just be very sweaty! The joy of those flashes of sheer brilliance makes all the hard work feel worthwhile.

To experience inspiration and motivation in your life, you need to make a conscious decision. Decide what it is that you want to create. What are the higher qualities you want to express in your life? Do you want to be inspired as an artist, a teacher, a healer, a writer, a nurturer, a musician, or a leader? Are you passionate about freedom, justice, beauty, knowledge, or wellness? Wherever your passions lie, make a choice that you will find ways, however big or small, to express these qualities in your life- not just occasionally, but every day.

By committing to taking regular action to express your gifts and passions in your life, you will also be consciously creating the motivation that will power you forward on your chosen path. With the motivation that builds through positive and continuous action, and the bursts of inspiration that come through the steady use of your talents, you can achieve anything you want in your life.

It is a simple recipe, but the trick is in following it. If you don’t keep adding the effort and persistence, inspiration alone will not make your cake rise.

By deciding what you want to achieve, and making a commitment to taking continuous action, your actions will eventually bring you the motivation and inspiration that you need to fulfill your deepest desires, and to live the life of your dreams.

A Little Black Pen