Could Old Dreams Be Zapping Your Vitality?

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11313578_893915757351920_457414134_nThis is the second post on Spring Vitality series. If you missed the previous post here it is: Make Fewer Decisions For A More Streamlined Life.

I was reading Marie Kondo’s, “The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up” whilst waiting for my soup at a cafe and it got me thinking: Do we ever tidy up or de-clutter dreams?

As I continued to the think about this idea, I felt clouds of dreams, some realized and some completely forgotten begin to flood my consciousness. Some of these dreams were long dead, whilst others fluttered around chirping like birds in a Disney animation.

Could a spring cleaning refresh these desire filled-dreams, bringing them to surface where they could be sorted between relevant and unnecessary? Just like clothes, shoes and knick knacks, dreams can clutter our lives without our realizing it; taking up precious space in our minds and bodies.

Having dreams that are floating around without purpose can be analogous to having apps open on an iPhone that are not being used which continue to run and use the battery power. And just as I do with my iPhone – I close the apps I am not using to conserve battery power for the apps I want to use – I want to do the same with old dreams and goals.

These dreams may be written down in journals or as personal statements. Or, they may be living on vision boards or as bucket lists or they may be just floating around in the backwaters of our minds.

It matters not where we have housed them because what we want to bring to these dreams is the clarity of our desire to spring clean and spruce them up so that they are current to our needs and add vitality to our lives.

4 Steps to Spring cleaning old dreams

  1. Take out old vision boards, personal statements, journals, and bucket lists and go through them. See which ones still resonate with you and make you feel vibrant and which ones zap your energy. Make 2 piles.
  2. Go through the pile that makes you feel vibrant and fine tooth comb it to see if those dreams truly  jazz you up and feel relevant to your growth. Be ruthless with your editing here because we do get attached to dreams – dig deep and get super clear on what you want in your life now.
  3. Take the pile of vision boards, personal statements, journals etc that you no longer want and chuck them in the garbage or have a little bonfire. Send them on their way with love and appreciation.
  4. The pile that you have decided to keep, take a look at it and see if it expresses your desires in the most joyous, true way that represents you. If it does, read and connect to these dreams. See how they make you feel and what action steps you can take to make them real. Write down those action steps and follow through.*

There may be some dreams that require you to rethink what you want and why you want those things. For example, if you have been pursuing a certain career or job title and you realize it is making you unhappy, it may behoove you to inquire a little deeper as to why you chose this career path in the first place and whether it still meets your original purpose. It may be time to let go of this dream or, refocus your efforts to make it happen.

If  you feel sadness or grief rising at the thought of releasing these dreams (due to associating it to failure for not accomplishing the dreams*). Give yourself some time to reflect on these feelings and then choose to let the feelings go. Cleaning, organizing, editing your life and making decisions about where you are going and who you want to be can be emotionally taxing, so be gentle with yourself.

Once you have completed this exercise step back and see how you feel. Do you sense more space? Clarity? Freedom? Use this new energy and make your dreams become a vibrant, delicious reality.

Thanks so much for reading my posts and following me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I, so appreciate you. Tell me a little about yourself and which dreams you are pursuing in the comments below.

* If you need help gaining clarity or need support in making your dreams come true. I am here to help you reach that higher ground.

Breaking The Spell Of Repeat Failures

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Last week, I shared a story from my childhood with you of my winning a sporting event,  which resulted in my coming in 2nd and 3rd place for most of my life. I had concluded that I didn’t deserve to come in first place and that if I came in first it would mean disapproval and negativity. So, I chose either to not pursue dreams or if I did, I didn’t set high goals for myself.

This conclusion brought with it a silent pain. A pain of feeling unaccomplished and deep unease because I was envious of others’ (family, friends, colleagues) successes. Fortunately, I was able to use the following techniques to overcome my negative conclusions and expectations. I put myself back on the winning path and I can help you to do the same.

Today, I want to dive deeper and share some techniques with you that I have used to break the negative repercussions and repeat failures that  simple conclusions can generate.

We have many choices and tools that can transform even the most hurtful experiences into life nourishing, self-confidence boosting realities. Failure or viewing ourselves as unworthy or undeserving only points to a limited perspective of a bigger whole in which we can be engaged players.

Let’s take the memory above and apply these 3 simple sets and see how they transform pain and repeat failure.

Step One

A different approach – pay attention to your head and heart. If I could have been with my younger self that day, I would have told her to focus on her body and strength, her breathing and what she wanted to accomplish versus focusing on what she thought others were thinking.

I would have encouraged her to listen to her heart’s desire and how she wanted to feel about herself instead of her fears of others interpretation of her. Do you ever or have you ever found yourself focusing on the negative self-talk instead of on how you want to feel?

Take a moment and write down memories or experiences where you allowed your fear to take the lead instead of your desired feelings/results. How did it feel and what was the outcome?  Now make a second list and write down what would it be like to follow your feelings instead of fears? This is a huge distinction that you want to anchor in and practice in your daily life.

If you find yourself heading into a difficult situation, take some time beforehand to get clear on what you would like to achieve and tap into your strengths (feelings) that you can use to generate those goals. Ask yourself: how do I want to feel during and on the other side of this situation? Then do everything in your power to generate those feelings.

A clear, connected head and heart relationship creates deep self-knowledge and confidence for any imagined or real battlefields. Practice this step every day from the start of your day, for projects, in relationships; basically for everything.

Next week, in step two, we explore assumptions and how to figure out which assumptions are ruling your life and leading you away from a fulfilling, rich life.

Thank you for reading my posts and please share them with family and friends; you never know when a simple technique can be the ray of light in someone’s unspoken darkness. See you next week, my loves.