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WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO BE DOING YET TAKE NO ACTION TOWARD?
Ask anyone you know what they want from life and they will generally respond with something like "to be successful, to be doing something I really enjoy, to feel fulfilled, to be happy". Yet so many people don't really love their life. They don't enjoy what they do, their relationships aren't happy, their lives are out of balance and they feel disatisfied with aspects of their lives. You may identify with one or more of these things yourself and feel powerless about changing it or just have multitude of reasons to explain why you aren't as happy and fulfilled as you'd like to be.
You see, what we perceive as possible for ourselves is often based on the messages we heard as children. Messages which continue to shape our attitudes and influence our behaviour. Often without questioning, we adopted the beliefs of others as being the absolute "truth". We developed stories about ourselves and our place in the world to help us make sense of our experiences. What is important to understand is that your beliefs control your destiny. The beliefs you have about yourself... the beliefs you have about the world and your ability to influence it. If your beliefs have become outdated - which is often the case for people who are "stuck" in an area of their life, you need to replace them with ones that will serve you since the only limitations you really have are those you choose to believe in.
FOCUS YOUR MIND AND ENERGY ON WHAT IS POSSIBLE
Those who accomplish extraordinary things in their lives do so despite the obstacles that stand in their way because they focus on what is possible rather than on what is not. People whose lives inspire you don't accept carte blanche the often limitating beliefs of those around them nor resign themselves to the impossibility of change. Neither do they give in to hopelessness and despair in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Eddison did over 1,200 experiments before he finally discovered how to create electricity. Imagine the world today if he'd resigned himself after the first few attempts and accepted what everyone one around said was a preposperous idea.
ARE YOU STANDING IN YOUR OWN WAY?
To paraphrse the quote above, you don’t see the world as it is, but as you are. It follows that if you continue viewing the world as you always have, your future will continue along much the same path as it always has. Whether in your relationships (or lack of them), your finances, your career or your health and fitness, the obstacles that have kept you from feeling fulfilled and happy in these areas of your life will continue to keep you dissatisfied whilst you view them as you always have. Often our main obstacles are simply the stories we have about ourselves and our ability to overcome the problems and challenges we encounter. As a coach I help my clients see themselves and their circumstances from new, and more empowering, perspectives which enable them to take effective actions to address those things keeping them from success, fulfilment and happiness in their lives.
"MASTERY OF LIFE IS NOT ABSENCE OF PROBLEMS, BUT MASTERY OF THEM" Humberto Maturana
People who lead rich, successful and fulfilling lives do so irrespective of the circumstances of their environment, luck or wealth. These people are always open to learning new ways of doing and seeing things; they have the humility to know that they don't know everything! They recognise when they are holding beliefs that no longer serve them; beliefs which limit them and their happiness. They choose to view their obstacles as inevitable but not insurmountable and welcome them as providing further opportunity for learning and growth.
As Einstein said, "Problem's cannot be solved at the same level of awareness at which they were created". If there is a recurring issue in your life you will only be able to address it by viewing it from a higher level of awareness. With every 'problem' in life you can choose to respond in several ways:
1. Stay where you are and continue feeling disatisfied. Just consider though how much you have invested in the story of your complaint and the payoff you get from it (sympathy, admiration, a feeling of self rightousness, etc)
2. If possible, do something proactive about it. Focus on whatever it is you can change and commit to taking action, however small at first (consider seeking guidance from someone you respect or admire).
3. If nothing can be done (and I mean absolutely nothing!), then decide today to accept it (and focus your energy on those things in your life you can do something about.
ARE YOU LIVING IN A DRESS REHEARSAL?
Many times I have heard the saying, “Life isn’t a dress rehearsal”. As cliche as it may be, it hits on a profound truth - you only get one shot at living your life the way you want to live it. You only get one today and yet each day passes and too often we fail to do anything that has enriched our experience of being alive. You can choose to sit there in the stands of the complacent watching the world play out around you holding stubbornly to your limiting beliefs of what is possible for you. But if there is something you would love to do, something that would inspire and excite you in any area of your life (and that includes the type of person you would love to be - honest, generous, couragious, organised, reliable, patient, open...) caste yourself forward 40 odd years and ask yourself "What if?".... a question begging for completion - "What if you tried?"!!!
TAKE CENTRE STAGE IN YOUR LIFE
You can decide to get "on the field" of your life (since no one else is going to play for you!) and play the greatest game you can knowing that whatever idea you can conceive in your mind is actually possible in your life. I am not saying it won't take plain old hard work, commitment, energy and determination (and you might have to swallow that pride of yours and practice some long forgotten humility) but it will make each day of your life infinetly more enjoyable, rewarding and rich. Surely that is what your life is all about...isn't it?
THERE IS NO LACK OF OPPORTUNITY; ONLY LACK OF WILL
The world is jam packed full of opportunities for you to do wonderful things with your time, energy and talents but only if you are open to new perspectives and prepared to let go of some of your stories about why things are the way they are. Yes, you may have a lot invested in those stories which justify all the reasons "why not", but ask yourself HONESTLY if they still serve your greatest happiness (and that of those you love!). If you embrace an idea that inspire's you in your mind and commit yourself to taking consistent actions toward its creation, despite whatever obstacles come along, your experience of life will transform to one of much greater fulfillment and joy.
THE POWER OF CHOICE
One of the most powerful things you have is the power to choose . You can choose to adopt new beliefs and you can choose to make better choices for yourself. Choices that open up new and exciting opportunities and create a much richer experience of being alive.
What kind of life do you choose to live? One full of reasons “why not” or one of continual action towards being the person – and living the life – that you dream of. It's your life; why not choose to live one you love?! | 
‘Live Your Greatest Life’ eNewsletter is written by Margie Warrell, a Life Coach, speaker and writer who is passionate about empowering people to live lives they love. The eNewsletter is designed to inspire, challenge and support you in being your greatest in life – to doing what you love better, with more success, balance and much less stress. 
