Do you love Disney movies like I do? If you do, then I know that you’re familiar with my all time favorite Disney movie!
Not too long ago I was watching Pocahontas with my daughter and I quickly remembered why I love that movie so much! It’s actually my favorite Disney movie. The inspiring messages throughout the film are 100% in tune with how I desire to live my life as a holistic health coach. I thoroughly enjoy helping ladies all around the world to enhance their life purpose while loving their lives wholeheartedly.
Every time I watch the movie I’m motivated to reflect on the choices I am making in my life. I want to be sure that I am living authentically and loving others in the process. Most of the time it is much easier to live an authentic life because that’s the special place where I thrive the most. But sometimes I’m confused about my next steps and need to pray for wisdom and guidance. Sometimes that guidance is unclear to me and I get to a fork in the road and wonder which path I’m going to follow. Sometimes I need to make compromises or move much more slowly than I anticipated because of challenging and unforeseen obstacles. Sometimes my decisions make no sense to other people even though it makes sense to me. Sometimes my decisions falter. Nonetheless, I keep trucking forward to the “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”.
Identifying Your Hurdles and Leaping OVER them!
Today I’m going to discuss three reasons why we may choose one path over another and choose to delay following our dreams. I think this is important to discuss because the fact of the matter is that external circumstances DO influence our decision-making and ladies have shared a host of reasons why they would prefer to choose one path over another.
- We may have responsibilities to ourselves or our families that require us to bring in a stable income. Sometimes ladies will tell me that they are not ready to make a financial investment in earning a certificate, degree, or additional training that leads to a more fulfilling career or business choice. This could be because they are already in significant debt, have poor credit, and/or earn too little income to invest in getting ahead. Sometimes they earn plenty of money, have excellent credit, and are not in debt, but have a habit of valuing certain things they love over other things. For example, maybe having a house full of modern chic furniture and a closet full of high quality dresses and shoes is more important to them than acquiring more knowledge they may never use. I can’t help but to notice that everyone’s intrinsic values are different. I actually think that’s what makes us unique.
- We may have taken risks at other points in our lives that led to nowhere significant. Perhaps you took a risk and instead of it producing favorable results, things ended in disaster. It then becomes more difficult to step out with courage when our world was previously turned upside down. What’s worse is that sometimes when disaster strikes, everyone is too busy to step in and help you when it’s needed most. But yet they sure wanted to drift away from their own lane and add their two cents in the beginning.
- Our situation may be such that it requires us to remain in a specific geographical location, when we’d really love to move. I have talked to several ladies who live in rural areas where going to the grocery store is anything but a hop, skip, and a jump! They would much rather live in booming metropolitan areas where opportunities are plentiful and adventures are endless, but alas they choose to stay in their corner of the globe. The reason? In many cases, family obligations require them to remain close. Sure they could just up and leave, but the alternative would be not being able to support their family and supporting family is a high intrinsic value for most people.
As I reflect back on my life I remember that I’ve also been in a situation where earning additional education and investing in myself cost more than what I thought I could afford. I chose to take out loans or paid on credit in order to lessen the immediate financial burden. On more than one occasion that was one of the best decisions I made because my earning potential increased by approximately 3 times as much and also gave me the education I needed to learn how to monetize my passions.
Additionally, I’ve taken risks that put me in situations that may not have been ideal for my family. For example, in order to continue my love for travel I began traveling with my kids when they were only 3 months old and also have visited places within the United States where I hired select nannies so that I could enjoy life on vacation. Some people said, “Why would you travel with a 3 month old? What if they get sick?” or “Why would you leave your child with a nanny so that you can explore Vegas and Hawaii?” Guess what? I did as much research as I could before entrusting a nanny and my children are in fact still healthy and living (haha).
Finally, I can also relate to feeling stuck in a certain geographical location. One time I wanted to travel overseas to engage in a cultural experience for a few months, but I didn’t have the financial means at the time. Instead of sulking I chose to strike a compromise, researched vacation deals and used my free time at other points in the year to travel to some of these places so that it didn’t feel like I was stuck in one place. I am definitely a wanderlust chick who enjoys meeting new people from different cultures in different environments and understanding life from their perspective in a hands-on way. So the idea of never traveling, even if it’s only to travel and explore in my own state sometimes makes me feel like a caged-in bird.
I believe that if we want to change our lives and follow a new path there may be obstacles that keep us from achieving our dreams as quickly as we’d like. However, I believe that we can make compromises and learn new ways to introduce more vibrance into our lives. Sometimes when we communicate our dreams with others they may give us ideas and options we had never considered and then we can live more fully than if we had kept the desire to ourselves.
For example, some ladies who are enrolled in my 30-Day self-paced Be More Career Development online course often express their desire to earn additional education in certain careers, but are unsure of how to make it happen. Maybe it will be more difficult to quit your steady accounting job and go back to school to be a fashion designer. But what is stopping you from designing clothes for friends and family who may be willing to pay you for your talents in your free time? That option may allow you to make some money AND engage in a past-time activity that you love. Sometimes just 15 minutes of focused attention a day doing what you love is enough to help you feel more fulfilled. There are always options. We just may not see them yet–me included (wink, wink).
Thanks for reading!
I’d love to know more about your talents and skills and dreams. I’m always looking for people in my circle of influence, particularly those who have decided to join my Nutrition 4 Busy Women Facebook group who have gifts and skills in areas that I am lacking or not as interested in using. Maybe I can utilize your skill-set or can give you some awesome ideas on how to best use them as you share your light with the world. Share them with me in the comments section and don’t forget to share this article with friends and fam who sometimes worry that they are stuck living a life that is unfulfilling.
I believe in your unique GREATNESS!
To Our Health & Happiness,
Ebonie
xoxo
P.S. Don’t forget to check out stories from purpose-driven women in my circle of LOVE by listening to how they were once overwhelmed, STUCK women and were able to turn their tribulations into beautiful triumphs (Apple Users Click Here and Android Users Click Here). YOU can too. I believe in you!
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