Shhhh! Did you hear that? There it goes again. It's a faint whisper. I can barely make it out, but I think it's your calling!
What's a calling you ask -- it's the reason why you were born.
It's been there your entire life desperately trying to get your attention. But your calling has been drowned out by the voice of fear.
This issue is further compounded by your regrets. You spend your days looking at the past and imagining, what if?
- What if I would have married her?
- What if I would have taken that job?
- What if I would have managed my money better?
The regret becomes your prison and you begin to lose faith in a better life. Hopeless, you sit and wait for the right opportunity that will miraculously change your life.
But the opportunity never comes and your life does not get better. And now you lay on your deathbed wondering, "Did I make a difference?"
And your frightening answer "no."
1. The Scary Truth Of Lying On Your Deathbed
But I am not letting you off that easy. I am not going to allow you to sit in your prison and wait for a better life.
I refuse to watch you lay on your deathbed regretting all the things you did not accomplish, only to ask me "what if..."
- What if I would have listened to my calling?
- What if I embraced fear as a friend and allowed it to fuel my perseverance.
- What if I let go of my regrets and embraced the now?
I need you to forget about the what if and change your mindset. I need to you focus on the now and begin to see your difficulties as opportunities.
Finding your calling is not an elusive goal but it does requires your commitment and perseverance. I have come to understand that while setting goals and having a plan are important aspects of living a life of purpose, finding your purpose is more of a journey.
And like any journey there is a degree of unpredictability. There are twists and turns and unscheduled pit stops, which may lead you on another journey. But what is most important is not the journey but how we react to each experience, which determines how we continue to grow.
2. Fear Will Terrify You Into Believing Its Dangerous
For you work is a sentence. A punishment assigned to you by some dark-overlord.
When we are stuck at a job instead of pursuing a passion, we become disconnected with that work. According to a research report by the Society for Human Resources Management -- only 43 percent of U.S. workers are "somewhat satisfied" with their current jobs.
This is the reason why so many people switch from job to job. But how do you stop switching jobs and find your calling? In large part, it has to do with leveraging your fear.
Merriam-Webster defines fear as -- an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.
And this is the fear that most of us are familiar with. It's the definition that you use to avoid risk in hopes that you will never experience failure.
But Leanne Kallal, co-founder of Juicy Geniuses, does not agree with that definition. Kallal believes that fear is...
"An opportunity for self-discovery and self-growth; a well of untapped personal power and strength; the gateway from wishing and wanting to doing and being."
So we have two definitions of fear, but which one do you listen to? The trick is tounderstand when to listen to your fears and when not too.
Allowing fear to control you is simple, continue being a bystander. But leveraging fear to tap into your personal power requires a different mindset that is always preceded by a feeling that there must be more to your life.
3. Your Actions will Give You Staggering Results
I know what you are saying, "but I don't feel that there is something more to my life."
That is fear influencing your words. You do have a feeling that there is something more to your life -- you just want someone to guarantee that you won't fail.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will not fail. In all honesty, I will guarantee that you will fail and you will fail -- often.
But don't let the failures become your obstacle they are the building blocks for long-term rewards. Instead, focus on this question, "What do you really want to get out of your life?"
Give yourself some time to answer this question. A good starting place is to write down all the major events in your life. Write them all down even if you think they are silly or irrelevant.
As you are getting to the end of your list begin to look for a common theme.
Next image yourself on your deathbed:
- What do you regret not doing?
- What do you wish you had more time to do?
- What do you fear losing?
This exercise will give you a good understanding of what is most important in your life. Once you have that awareness, it's time to commit an action.
Any action. As long as you are doing something.
Don't fear failure. Leverage fear to feed your perseverance. It's in the failure that you will learn the lessons necessary to prepare you for what comes next.
And now you lay on your deathbed wondering, "Did I make a difference?" Your fearless answer will be "Yes!"
Question: If you could hit the reset button on life what would you change? What would you do differently? How would you live?
Image: Author's Own