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"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive." -
Harold Whitman
Life is a story we weave together through our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Yet, we live most of life through our past and expectations for the future instead of in the present. The problem with this way of moving through life is that we forget to appreciate what is happening
right now inside our world, and often miss the moments a past version of us desired.
Think about this - when was the last time you paused and thought about what makes you happy? Left an event or a friend's house and noticed if that experience left you satisfied and feeling nourished? Or, sat in nature and took in all of mother earth's glory through your
Senses?
The first step in your self-discovery journey is taking the time to identify the people, things, and environments that ignite your soul and fill you up.
As we grow up and navigate our place in this crazy thing called life, we lose sight of how amazing life can be when we have free time that is never burdened by responsibilities or mundane parts of life. I remember being 12 years old, laying on my bedroom floor with Ace of Base - the Sign repeatedly playing, drawing for hours. As if time didn't exist. So full in those moments that the outside world didn't matter. All I cared about was myself and how I felt in those moments.
To reconnect with what ignites us, we must go back to times of bliss and reflect on how these experiences made you feel - and how they shaped your world at that time. Everything from the music you listened to, to the hobbies or passions that kept you busy for hours. What got you excited? How would you spend your time and Daydream?
Here's an exercise that I want you to try.
Close your eyes and think of all your unforgettable and happy memories. Everything and anything you can think of. If you have trouble recalling memories, perhaps some old photos or family can help you get started.
Then you're going to create a list broken into five columns of all these happy memories, hobbies, and experiences in the following categories. I want you to add one more column at the top that reads values. And leave that blank for a moment.
• Proudest moments
• Happiest memories
• Hobbies/Passions
• Favorite people
• Values
Do you have your lists? Perfect! To start, I want you to revisit your proudest and happiest moments. For instance, if we revisit my 12-year-old self, I might answer this as I felt calm, creative, at peace, authentic, and present. Now you try. Go ahead, and once you've identified your list of feelings, place those words under the values header. Really sink into these moments and reminisce on how each of these experiences made you feel. What was present for you? You'll repeat this for each of your proudest and happiest moments - hopefully leaving you with an extensive list of words you connect with.
Once you have this list, please combine all the like terms, such as calm, at peace, soothing, quiet, etc. The idea here is to get all your words separated by theme. Identify which word or words describe all the ones you connect with most. This should leave you with 7-10
words, feelings, and expressions. These are your values. Interested in digging deeper into your values? Check out the Living Into Our Values episode of Brené Brown's Unlocking Us, where we walk through this exercise step-by-step.
Using your values and the list of hobbies, passions, and people that ignite you, you can start aligning your life with more things that speak to your soul and activities that fulfill you consistently.
Please think about WHY these moments, hobbies, and people made this list. How did you feel? Why did your hobbies and passions then make you happy? Do you still have great experiences in your life?
I know you might be thinking, Lo, I want to do all these things, but I don't have the time. My life's already so busy. Here is some harsh truth. If you honestly and without judgment look at how much time you spend online, watching TV, and staring at your cell phone, you probably have more time than you think. It's essential to make time to do things that fuel your soul and make you happy. The first step is learning to prioritize your time differently, which you’ll have to wait for in an upcoming blog. Sorry!
Are you interested in digging a little deeper into your values with a hands-on approach? I’m now offering single coaching sessions. Together let's create the space for your inner child to come out and lead the way.