Awaken

Wake Me Up”
Lyrics:  AVICII

Haven’t we all at one time or another felt like this? We thought we were in exactly the right place, where we belong. Doing what seemed like all the right things.  Then time passes and we come to realize that somehow, somewhere we fell off our original path.  At some point along the way we switched directions.  Instead of pursuing our hopes and dreams, we made a choice that changed everything.  Maybe it was a career choice or moving to another state away from family and childhood friends.

Then something happens.  We wake up.  We begin to remember those deeply embedded dreams and aspirations we had as kids.  The inventions we made, the cook book of special recipes, home-made cosmetics, perfume mixes, and the poems we wrote to make us famous.  These memories are there – neatly tucked away in the back of our mind.  They resurface time and again.  Sometimes they nag at us a bit – giving us that “feeling” that we should be spending our life’s time doing something else. We do a reality check, make a quick comparison of where we are and where we wanted to be.  Then land exactly where Avicii did in his song – lost. 

Now what?

Do we let time and life continue to pass? Stay there in regret and ask to be woken when we are passed the point of opportunity to switch directions yet again? Hoping to wake up when we’re older and wiser to deal with the choices we made?

No way. Not us.  We know that nothing is ever final so long as we can breathe.  We can re-think, re-set and re-load our dreams into the fabric of our daily life.  Will it be easy to take two steps backward to go forward? Definitely not, but not nearly as hard as thinking about the what-ifs and the “if only I had changed direction when i had the chance” thoughts.

Here are some simple things you can do to make sure you don’t let what makes you happy get lost along life’s journey:

• Keep your own personal “priority” vision for your life front and center – take time to check in – and confirm that you are really doing what you love and what makes you happy.
• Set small goals to chart your success – if you always wanted to be an artist – take a class – pick up a book on the subject – find people who do the things that you would like to do – and study how they got there
• Pick motivational themes that will inspire and help you get there  – I love Winston Churchill’s Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Never Give In.
• Reflect – take quiet time to think – don’t get swept up in all the busyness of life
• Track your progress and note your achievements, then quickly move on what’s next
• Don’t Settle – take small steps to get back on the track to your personal happiness goals – develop a punch list of the things you need to do first – keep a journal and never feel like its too late to right the ship.

Best