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This Is Hopeless Unless You Realize Your Potential

Life is hard, isn't it? It just seems like there is always something to challenge you, a setback, a disappointment, a frustration. Maybe you are having a mid-life crisis, or feeling burnout at work. It is so easy to get discouraged. It is so tempting to give up, to settle into a state of hopelessness, helplessness, or frustration.

Many people do give up. They live lives, as Thoreau said, of "quiet desperation." They spend their days at a boring job that doesn't pay enough, come home, have a beer or a glass wine, watch television until it is time for bed, and then get up the next day and do it all again. This is hopeless.

But if you were willing to settle for that, I doubt you would be reading this article. You are feeling called to something more. You are sensing there is more to you yet to be born. You are open to making some new choices, some new decisions, taking a few risks.

Why is that? Why would you want to risk? What is it that is calling to you? Maybe it is a dream, or a vision, or a desire that has been born in your heart to be more than who you are today.

The truth is there is only one you. In this world of seven billion people there is no one else quite like you, no one else with your particular gifts, no one else with your particular way of seeing and experiencing the world. Did you ever think about that?

If you should die without realizing your full potential there will never be another chance for the world to receive the gifts that you came here to give. No one else that can take your place. This is a huge responsibility for you to bear on your tiny shoulders, but there it is. There is only one you.

So what can you do to realize your full potential? Here are three suggestions:

1. Listen to the still small voice inside. Many people are too busy in "doing-ness"... to do lists, goals, appointments, volunteer activities, things that keep you going non-stop. It is easy to forget to take time to listen to the inner voice, that inner guidance, those little suggestions that pop into your mind from who-knows-where. But in listening, you may hear the voice of your destiny calling to you.

2. Pay attention to your heart-felt desires, to what you feel passion for. I believe your heart-felt desires are meant to guide you. They are there for a reason. They are a little bit like the yellow brick road was for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The yellow brick road took her for a real adventure: excitement, jeopardy, peril, and ultimately success! And along the way, she become wiser, more heart-centered, and courageous!

3. Take a risk. When you feel hopeless, or feel like a failure in life, it is because you are telling yourself that the past equals the future. But that is only true when you make the same choice tomorrow that you made today. Take a risk, make a new choice, and watch what happens! Your potential is right there, waiting for you to claim it.

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4 Steps to Becoming Free and Happy

Whenever someone tells you that your way is blocked by discouragement or confusion, check over these 4 Steps. It won't be long before you will find the barrier at your back and find yourself on the open highway once more.

1. A sincere desire for inner change

You must really want to be different. Your first desire should be for the truth itself, not for ideas that please you by backing up what you already believe. The earnest man dares to sail uncharted seas. When he finally reaches port, he finds that this new world, though strange at first, is what he really sought all along. You can change the thing that is wrong in your life. You just need to be prepared and ready to do it. Whenever you develop the desire, you can take away from your life what is defeating it. The capacity for reformation and change lies within.

2. Contact with workable principles

This means we must be in contact with some sort of genuine help. This can be a person who has already set himself at liberty, it can be a book, or it can be a matured way of thinking. You must be aware of counterfeit; you must not accept something as true merely because it appears so to you. You must make every offered idea prove itself to be a workable principle. You must personally verify everything. The road to happiness lies in simple principles: do what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.

3. Self honesty

Genuine courage consistent in being honest with yourself. What makes men free is for the most part is the truth which men prefer not to hear. The really heroic person is one who is willing to be wrong for the present in order to be right later on. But honesty does not mean that you change your viewpoints really for the sake of change; it means you explore your viewpoints in order to separate truth from falsity. Then truth dissolves falsity. There is nothing of more practical use than self honesty.

4. Persistence

You may be sincere, and you may have found a source of genuine help. And you may also have a full supply of self honesty. By adding one more thing, then you have all you need for swift strides forward; it is an old-fashioned and admirable quality called persistence. You must keep going. As the New Testament phrases it, he must not fall by the wayside. Persistence pays. Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure.

To be happy, rather than say "if only" substitute instead the words "next time". Success consists of getting up just one more time after you fall.

Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before realizing a final success. What sets the successful apart is amazing persistence. There are a lot of people out there who have good and marketable ideas, but pure entrepreneurial types almost never accept defeat.

The line between failure and success is so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man had thrown up his hands when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success. A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed like a hopeless failure may turn into glorious success

Becoming free and happy is what finding your True Self is all about. It is based upon an awareness that there is a better way to live and then eliminating all obstacles to realizing it. Visualize your destiny and make it a reality.

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Discover Your Purpose

Humans aren’t alone in having a purpose.

Everything in nature is always expanding or evolving towards fulfillment.

Think about it…

A bee wants to pollinate flowers and trees. A plant produces oxygen. A cloud forms to produce rain.

However, unlike plants and other living creatures, you and I don’t have to accept the environment we are in. Humans have the unique ability to co-create our reality through our thoughts.

As a result, instead of all members of the species having the same overriding purpose (e.g., pollination for bees), each person has his or her own unique purpose. And it’s up to the individual to discover what that purpose is.

The problem is we get so caught up and bogged down with our daily activities and obligations that our awareness of our own unique life purpose is easily shrouded over.

When you don’t know your purpose, however, there are consequences. You may have a continuing sense of frustration. Or you might feel like you’re “off-track” or out of sync with your inner self.

Make sure you’re clear on this

Some people confuse their goals and desires with the life purpose. But there’s a significant distinction.

Over the course of your lifetime, you’ll have a succession of desires and goals. However, your purpose is deeper and more permanent than any goal. It’s your reason for living.

Let’s say you’ve always wanted to write a book and, one day, you set a goal to do so. The thought of it excites you because you want to make money, be well-known, change people’s lives, or build a legacy.

Even though writing a book is a terrific accomplishment, it doesn’t give you a reason to stay alive. That is what a purpose does. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning, every day of your life.

Is it love?

People who discover their life purpose use their mental, emotional and creative energies to develop a skill, talent, or interest they love.

When you give yourself to something you genuinely love, it calls forth your spirit. That makes you happier and more fulfilled, and you feel like you’re in sync with your inner self.

What’s more, your everyday life takes on new meaning as you share your gift with the world.

Action is where you get results

I know it’s not always easy to think your way into finding your life purpose. If you’re too much “in your head,” you may have to act your way into it.

The more we act, the more we get clear on things. So, while you’re working on discovering your purpose, be sure to do whatever you’re currently doing the best you can. Give it all that you’ve got.

And, instead of worrying about whether something will work out, if you should try something, or if you can make money at it, just do it. Start trying new things to see where they lead you. This will help you get out of your own way.

The experience of doing a great job or trying something new is its own reward. Clarity comes through the process of exploring and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

Stop wasting your time

In the video, I mentioned that I used to investigate things that didn’t remotely interest me just because someone had presented an idea or opportunity to me. Don’t do that. It’s a waste of your precious time.

However, when you do feel a pull towards an activity, idea, or opportunity that involves doing something you love, pursue it fully and vigorously. Then, pay attention to the feedback your actions give you along the way.

Infuse all your actions with love for what you’re engaging with. That includes all the people you interact with, as well.

If you consciously infuse your thoughts, emotions and behavior with positive, life-affirming energy, it will be easier for you to see your true purpose with greater clarity.

A magnet steadily pulling you towards it

Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi spiritual leader, described the pull of your purpose in this way:

…one may suddenly think during the night, “I must go to the north,” and in the morning, he sets out on his journey. He does not know why, he does not know what he is to accomplish there, he only knows that he must go. By going there, he finds something that he has to do and sees that it was the hand of destiny pushing him towards the accomplishment of that purpose which inspired him to go to the north.

I find that people who set out to “go to the north” and discover their life purpose live their life in service and bliss. They recognize that they are hard-wired to do something very well and that talent, skill, or ability will blossom when they discover it.

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Who is in charge of your emotions?

Everyone wants to enhance their quality of life. Everyone wants to be more fulfilled. But almost all of us get stuck at times in our limiting beliefs and emotional patterns. We make habits out of feeling frustrated, worried, sad or overwhelmed. But it is these disempowering habits that prevent us from doing what we are really capable of – even if that something is just being happy. 


While we cannot control the events that happen in our lives, we can master how we experience these events. People are always going to encounter stressful times. It could be losing a job, losing your health or even losing a loved one. Something happens that is outside our control, and it knocks us down. But stress, anger, sadness – these feelings don’t come from the facts, they come from the meaning that we give the facts. Of course, the terrible things that happen are real. But the question is, how are you going to allow that to shape your life? Are you going to let it tear you down, or are you going to use it to empower and enlighten the way you go through life?

It’s all about the meaning that you give the events and experiences of your life. Because when you come up with a new meaning, you can get a new perspective, and, ultimately, a new life.

THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES

We unconsciously decide what events and experiences in our life mean; we do it all the time, but may not be aware of it.

Take a downturn in the economy, for example. One person could interpret that as, “I’m going to be broke.” Another person, though, might say, “This means I’m going to work harder and I’m going to be more creative about saving.”

What do you think the outcome of this thought pattern will be for each of these individuals? Pretty different, right? Is it apparent why each will have very different approaches to life, and why each will experience very different emotions? That all comes from the meaning each person assigned to the event.

Now, let’s move to something a little more personal. Consider a woman who had been adopted as a baby. One path she could take is to devalue herself, to believe that because she was adopted, that she wasn’t good enough to be loved. She could also take the opposite approach, and consider the fact that someone chose her and chose to love her. What’s the significance of her decisions over what story to choose? How will this impact her decisions in her daily life? How will it affect her bigger decisions?

The former story creates a sense of loss, while the latter celebrates her life and her worth. And the story she chooses will impact her whole life – because the decisions that control us are the decisions about meaning, and meaning equals emotion.

TRADE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR APPRECIATION

If choosing the disempowering story sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. We all tell ourselves stories that make us miserable when we could be feeling joy. We make ourselves feel sad, worried, anxious, shameful, guilty, fearful and enraged on a consistent basis. Why? Because we are wired that way.

The human mind is always looking for what you could lose, what you could have less of or what you could never have. It might seem counterintuitive, but it’s a matter of survival and of protection. You are biologically wired to prepare yourself for the worst at all times. That is why it is up to you to take conscious control over the stories you tell yourself and the resulting emotions you experience.

The secret to doing this is to trade your expectations for appreciation. If you do this, your whole life will change in that moment. And if you keep doing it, your life will change forever.

Go back to the woman who was adopted. She had an expectation that her biological mother and father should have kept her. And that expectation could have tainted her entire life. But if she shifted her expectations to appreciation that somebody picked her consciously and loved her, without the obligation or the biological imperative to do so, her entire life would change. This is the power of trading expectations for appreciation.

TAKING BACK CONTROL

The choice is yours. What are you going to focus on? What story are you going to let guide your life? You get to choose what meaning to assign. This is the one power that you have right now in this moment that can change everything.

The only thing keeping you from getting what you want is yourself. The only thing keeping you from the joy you deserve is the disempowering story you keep telling yourself. But what if you decided right now to offer yourself a new core of belief? What if everything in your life, including the most painful and traumatic events, was happening for you, not to you? What if everything was designed for you to actually have a greater life and have more to give and more to enjoy?

If you want real freedom in your life, you must make a decision to stop allowing external events to shape your happiness. And that is only done by becoming the master of meaning and finding the empowering meaning in anything and everything that comes your way.

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7 Steps to Self-Fulfillment

Personal Success, Happy life, Personal Growth, Personal Success 

In a busy world, it is very easy to feel as if you are unhappy or in need of self-fulfilment. Maybe you feel as if you do not have enough money, or your relationships are not where you want them to be. You may easily catch yourself wondering, “I just had this or that, I would be happy”.

The truth is, self-fulfilment cannot always come from material things.

Fulfilment is a mindset, and happiness is found when you can reflect and find contentment.

Here are 7 steps that you can take to feel more fulfilled and happy right now.

1. Surround Yourself with Positivity

A great deal of your happiness can be affected by your environment.

If you notice that you spend much of your time with people who have a negative impact on your mood or attitude, it may be time to branch out and connect with people who make you smile and push you toward positivity.

2. Visualize Success

Give yourself goals to reach, whether in your personal or professional life. Maybe you want to lose weight, go back to school for a higher degree, or drink more water.

Whatever you ware wanting to accomplish, you are most likely to be successful if you set tangible goals.

After you have set these goals, implement a plan to achieve them step by step, and spend time visualizing what it will take to be successful. Developing a clear vision for your goals makes them more realistic and tangible.

A great tool to help visualize your future and focus on your goals is a vision board.

3. Celebrate Your Accomplishments

When you achieve success and reach your goals, it is incredibly important to celebrate those wins and reward yourself in some way. Give yourself recognition for a job well done.

This can be done by going out with friends for the night, buying that one thing you have been holding off on, spending a day treating yourself or simply doing anything to celebrate that y

4. Take Charge

It is often too easy to put others in charge of your own happiness, such as a spouse or friend.

The truth is that you are completely responsible for your own happiness and fulfilment.

Instead of blaming other people or things for your lack of happiness, take the matter into your own hands and find ways to be fulfilled no matter what comes your way or how others treat you.

Being in charge of your own destiny and self can seem challenging, but is extremely rewarding.

5. Help Others

A great way to feel fulfilled is to share what you have with others. This can include time, money, or skills.

If you are using these resources to benefit others, you are sure to not only help them out, but you will add to your own happiness.

6. Take Care of Yourself

Even though it is great to help others, it is vital that you do not overlook your own needs. Give yourself rest when you need it. Lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

If you are taking care of yourself, you will be much more able to influence others around you and will feel happier overall.

7. Find the Good

While it may seem as if there is little to cherish in your life at times, you must look within and acknowledge the things that are going right. Find the situations and people in your life for which you are grateful, and focus on these.

Focusing on the positives will not only help you to feel a greater sense of fulfilment but will also allow you to identify the areas in your life where changes could be made.

Self-fulfilment does not happen in one day, it takes time and a conscious effort, but if you follow these steps and take action to change your daily rituals, you can become more fulfilled with the simplicities of your life.

Finding happiness in yourself will reflect on everything you do, I’d like to hear what brings fulfilment to your life. Comment below and I will be sure to follow up with you. 

• Develop the powerful habit of using daily affirmations to help achieve your goals and dreams.
• Stay positive and more optimistic during inevitable setbacks, difficulties, and adversities.
• Keep your mind off of negative thoughts and what you don’t want in your life.
• Assert control over your thoughts, feelings, mind, and actions in every dimension of your life.

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