~ JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY ~
This series of blog posts is dedicated to self-discovery. They can be read out of order, but leave some space in between to let the information sink in. Give yourself time to try things out too and allow what you've read to make a difference in your daily life.
First, I want to mention, I am only sharing things that I’ve personally experienced and found helpful. I am not offering any services or advice, just the things I've discovered for myself, one human being to another. Hopefully, I can encourage and inspire you.
So, are you ready?
Before we dive in, I need you to do something.
MAKE A PROMISE TO:
Dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to yourself
Find a place where you won’t get distracted
Follow through with the practical applications
Put your hand on your heart and say out loud: “This is a ME time.”
Now that we got this out of the way, let’s begin. Get a journal or paper and a pen. Find a quiet place.
Ask yourself:
1. What is ONE thing I would want to be able to accomplish in life that currently seems impossible?
Close your eyes and take a minute. Write down the first thing that comes to your mind:
I wish to...
Make it specific and personal. Not for the world, not even for your loved ones. Others might benefit as a result, but it has to start with YOU.
Look deep inside your heart—if you had all the required resources, time, and opportunities, what would you want to be able to do? What is one purpose you would wish to fulfill? One life goal you would like to accomplish? Write it down now.
This might not be easy, especially if you’d always put the needs of others above your own. Maybe you never had an opportunity to sit down and think about your own wishes. It’s time to ask: what is it that YOU want from life? What are YOU truly passionate about? What have YOU always dreamed about doing?
Even God (if you believe in Him) said that He will give you the desires of your heart. If the Creator of the Universe cares about your aspirations, so should you. And today you’re going to put them at the forefront of your mind.
Remember, it has to be one thing—the most important one. In order to get to the bottom of your heart's desire, let's dig a little deeper.
We wish for many things on a daily basis. For example, I want to be able to snap my fingers and for the house to clean itself, for meals to cook themselves, and for kids to be teleported to sports practices.
But when I probe deeper and ask myself why I want this, I find that the real wish behind it is to free my time for writing and painting. Going even deeper into why I want to write and paint, I discover a need to express myself. Yes, I also want to encourage and inspire other people, leave a mark, etc. But my utmost desire is to realize my purpose in doing something that reflects who I am. And if I had to choose between the two, if I had to pick one thing, I would choose writing. So, the one ability I wish I had would be… to weave together the stories that carry life and light.
Ok, now your turn. Have fun with it and let yourself dream big. But remember—it has to come from your innermost heart’s desire. You might have to do some detective work to discover it. You might need to go back to your childhood or youth and ask yourself:
What did I always want to be able to do?
What did I dream about?
Who did I feel like I was meant to become?
Don’t rush it, take your time. In fact, take several days to think about it. Journal your thoughts or do an idea dump:
1st ~ write everything that comes into your mind on the paper (even the things that seem impossible)
2nd ~ cross out the abilities you can probably live without
3rd ~ rate the ones that are left on the scale of importance to you
finally ~ pick your #1.
You’ll find that one most important wish by asking yourself the question “Why do I want to be able to do it?”. Once you get to the answer “Because this is totally me!”, you got it.
Use your imagination, listen to your heart, take a personality test, ask people you trust what they see in you, pray and ask God what He sees in you, ask yourself. Spend this time digging deep. Whether you think you know what you want or have no idea, keep your mind open to new possibilities.
Here is the problem—life gets busy, we become adults with responsibilities, our time gets swamped with things we have to do. Over the years, we forget to ask ourselves—what is it that we really want to do? Even if we do, something always gets in the way. It might be illness, finances, tragedy, our own insecurities. It might be important things, things we can’t avoid, things we have to take care of.
But…
I propose you imagine for a minute that none of these obstacles exist. You are free to be yourself and to do whatever you want with your life. What would it be? (Aside from lying on the beach with the drink in your hand.)
And let me tell you a secret—once you know the “what” and the “why”, the “how-to” will fall into place.
Whatever it is that you wished for, you’ve got to realize that the ability to make your dream come true is already within you. It’s just lying dormant, waiting to be discovered and released.
I want to leave you with this quote by an unknown author:
“Your life has a purpose.
Your story is important.
Your dreams count.
Your voice matters.
You were born to make an impact.”
Once you have your ONE THING written down, check out the link below to get into the right mindset to go after it:
Next blog post in this series: Learning How to See Yourself