four radical ways to do it
Most of my clients come to me because they want something to be different.
They want to be happier or healthier.
They want to be more abundant or successful.
They want to be in loving and fulfilling relationships.
Most of what we want in life is not something we ‘be’.
It’s something we become.
We become by building through discipline and repetition.
Because …
Practice is a form of permanence.
Here’s what practice looks like:
If you want to be more present so you can fully enjoy the beauty of a moment, practice being present for five minutes per day for a month. At the end of the month, your mental muscle of presence will be a little more powerful. Then, next month make it ten minutes. Next, apply your presence practice to different areas of your life – washing the dishes with vanilla soap, colouring a rainbow with your children, opening your heart to a loved one, expanding your lungs with winter air.
Soon, you’ll notice you’re living in the present moment a whole lot more and getting hijacked by the past and future a whole lot less. Along the way, you’ll build the confidence to know you have the power to change your state and your life.
Experiment with stepping into your power this week with a few of my favourite practices:
1. Radical honesty: be committed to being honest with yourself. Jung said, “until you make the unconscious conscious it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Be real with yourself about what’s really driving you, so you can take control and make a different choice.
2. Radical responsibility: as much as possible, take ownership of your actions. Practice treating yourself like a child you adore and are responsible for. Would you let that little one stay up all night eating junk food and watching movies? Or, would you make sure they have done their homework, are well nourished, and are tucked into bed with love at a reasonable time?
3. Radical interdependence: be 100% committed to you and 100% committed to the relationship (whatever that looks like for you and your life). Ask for help when you need it, rely on those who are reliable, support them, allow them to support you. Go all in with your whole heart, for you and for them.
4. Radical accountability: Meaningful change requires that you show up for yourself with consistency and diligence. Healing works. But, only if you do. When you mess up, figure out where things went sideways, do what you can to make it right, and focus on getting back on track.
Here’s the truthtruth – there’s a whole lot we can’t control.
We can’t control the tides of society.
We can’t control where we were born.
We can’t control the disasters in nature.
We can’t control the past from the present.
We can’t control what happened to our parents.
We can’t control the emotions or behaviours of others.
But, there are some things that are within our power to control.
How we think.
What we believe.
Who we choose to be.
The behaviours we engage in.
The practices we build our life upon.
The boundaries we set for ourselves and others.
Stepping into your power to live a life you love is simple (not always easy).
You have to practice it to become it.