should-itis

How do most of us spend the day?

Probably doing the same old, same old. Following the routine. Stuck on the treadmill of obligation and habit. Waiting for the day when things will finally change. But what if there were another way? How would it be if we could be free to follow our dreams – follow our bliss?

Instead of waiting for life to “happen to us”, thinking “I’ll be happy, when…” (fill in your personal “when” here!), how would it be if we could turn things around, right here? Right now?

Well, consider this your official kick up the butt.

Let’s zip forward a few years. Let’s imagine it’s your 80th birthday party.

You’re surrounded by those you love.

There’s a great bit cake and a real party atmosphere.

As you look around you, as the 80-year-old you, you take a moment to look back at your life – at the choices you made. You’re looking at the types of thoughts you had, the ways you acted, the decisions – big and small.

Knowing what you know as the 80-year-old you, what advice would you give the person sitting back in the here and now…?

• I’m guessing it probably wouldn’t be to work harder, but perhaps to play harder.
• It probably wouldn’t be to follow the rules more, but to follow your heart.
• It probably wouldn’t be to keep doing things you hate, but to find things to do that you love.

Well? How about it? What’s stopping you?

Here are the usual culprits that prevent us from living our bliss:

• Fear – fear that it might go wrong. Fear of what others might think.
• Comfort zone – breaking out of our comfortable status quo means the vast majority of people live a life that is way below their potential for love, happiness and joy.
• Expectations – we usually choose to behave the way we think people want us to, rather than the way our heart tells us is right.
• We feel we don’t deserve it, at some level
• We follow our heads, not our hearts

Whatever our personal excuse, do you really want to spend the next few decades living a half life?

Or is there even a glimmer of excitement at the prospect of being able to break free of the constraints that have been holding you back? Can you sense that there is more joy and bliss – or even just a glimmer of happiness – that’s yours for the taking?

In fact, it’s your birth right!

Whatever your religious (or non-religious) persuasion, there’s no law out there that says you can’t feel as much happiness as could possibly be squeezed into a human body!

We all arrive on this planet with a heart full of dreams and a driven sense of purpose.

As we grow up, we learn to forget about all this and do what we think is expected of us, rather than follow our dreams.

Are You Suffering From “Should-itus”?

Words like “should”, “ought to” and “have to” are all classic symptoms of what I call “should-itus” – the early warning sign that we’re following our head, not our heart.

• With a mild case of should-itus, there’s just a general feeling of dis-ease. You’re generally ok and happy, but you’re aware that something is missing.

• As should-itus progresses, the symptoms get stronger. The sense of dis-ease increases and the knowing that something is missing gets stronger.
• Then we squash it with avoidance tactics – and eventually addictive behaviours. These range from “little” things like sugar, chocolate, caffeine or Facebook 😉 to narcotics, exercise addictions and other behaviours that can destroy our self-esteem and relationships.

As we grow up, we can see, deep down, that most people are just “ok”. Raising your hand and yelling to the world that you want more than “ok” is often frowned upon. We don’t want to stand out from the crowd. So we put up with feeling “ok, but mildly dissatisfied” and get on with life.

After all, who are we to aim for a more joyful life experience?

It simply doesn’t have to be that way!!!!!

The sad thing is that most of us aren’t ready to even admit there might be a path of bliss for us to follow.

And I send masses of love to those still in that very painful place.

But if you’re even a teeny bit ready to turn around and see that there’s another way to live your life, then I’m sending out a massive cheer and huge hugs to celebrate!

• Are you ready to make a start on the simple changes that could transform your life?
• Are you ready to head out towards a life that’s fulfilling, filled with love, light, laughter and sunshine?
• Are you ready to take total responsibility for every thought, feeling and action you take?

Then welcome to the ride!

Following your bliss isn’t about throwing away everything that’s important to you about your life.

It’s about making subtle, yet powerful, changes to how we experience the life we already have. Then we can make tweaks to duck out of the stuff that ‘s not working for us and bring in more of what we love.

Would You Like A Helping Hand?

Over the coming days, weeks and months, I’m going to be blogging about following your bliss, sharing the practical steps you can take to move towards the life you deserve.

We’re going to be talking about topics including:

• How do we know what your bliss is? And what is bliss anyway?
• How do we move towards our bliss?
• How do we handle the stuff that drags us down?
• How on earth do we get a grip on the stream of negative thoughts we have every day?
• How do we release the blocks that have been holding us back from following our bliss?

And if you’re already on your journey towards following your bliss, how about sharing your top tips and advice via the comments box below?

I can’t wait to hear from you!

With love,

Clare x