Have you ever been faced with a challenge and wondered “why is this happening to me?’
Well, I have asked why so many times. You see, I have had many challenges and obstacles in my life.
And the answer to my “why” becomes clearer as I age. It all starts with me. “Change” starts internally–within me; then I can focus on external changes.
I have had to look at the way I lived my life and transform it. For example, in my thirties I was overweight, asthmatic, and depressed. I also suffered from extreme back pain. On medicine for depression, I hoped for relief from my “out of control” life. But the medicine did not provide the cure I sought. The cure came from a little voice inside me that told me I had to make some difficult, dramatic, and daring decisions in my life.
At that time, instead of moving forward and listening to that voice, I chose to remain “stuck” in a joyless job. I worked constantly striving to achieve and acquire more “things.” I stayed there 10 more years until one day, my husband got cancer. I realized through his pain that my own pain was just as cancerous as his–that my life was eating me away–what I was doing was wasting me.
So, almost on the spot, I quit the job that was then giving me little fulfillment. I plunged ahead and chose to listen, to quiet my mind, and move from fear to victory. I opened my own business and started living my life as an entrepreneur and business woman. Certainly, I used all my skills and knowledge from my previous career to hone a successful business. But now I could do things on my own terms and be a creative, innovative marketer.
Look, I know I made a difference to others in my former career and I know I paid it forward as well. But in my new business, I felt that I could make even more of a difference. Each day I went to work, it felt like “play.” It was so pleasurable, so delicious. I met the most amazing people–who wouldn’t want to pay it forward?
So, let me ask you: what’s stopping you from changing your life as you are now living it? And, if it is fear (and it was for me) don’t wait too long to change your mindset-you just might be missing a whirlwind of opportunities.