Where am I?: 5 Places to Challenge Yourself to Have an Amazing Life
There is always something to do, isn’t there? Sometimes I feel like there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done that I know I needs to get done. Saturday I was in the middle of working and getting myself ready for the week when a friend called me. We had made very tentative plans to go out for Cinco de Mayo, but it had been raining all day and I hadn’t even really thought about it till she called. She was calling to give me an out! The truth is I was very close to taking that out till she said something that really inspired me. She even used my own words back at me. Don’t you hate it when people do that?
“What do you think, should I go?” I asked after giving her the list of all the things I had to do.
“Well, knowing that you are all about living a life you are excited about, I would look from there if you should go!” She said.
She’s a great coach!
First stop, the food truck celebration in the center of the little town of Windermere, Florida. Since it had been raining there was only a handful of food trucks and only hard core city dwellers. They clearly all lived in the houses nearby. Both my friend and I are entrepreneurs so we felt kinda bad for these small business owners that prepared all this food for the masses that didn’t actually come out to party. In the spirit of supporting small businesses, this Cinco de Mayo I had the best rootbeer I’ve ever had in my life from the food truck from Maine. It was amazing! All those delicious crisp tastes of bubbles and whatever makes rootbeer so tastey, all without the corn syrup….
With that deliciousness on my lips, I drove about an hour away to another one my friends little town of Sanford, Florida, the Celery Capital of the World. After being in New York city I forgot that states were so big! My friend had invited me to line dance with her. I never for a moment actually thought she meant cowboy boots in a red barn… but that is exactly where I ended up!
I walked in and was actually a little scared till I saw my friend dancing it up. I won’t lie, I looked really silly. I was lost about 90% of the time but I really had a blast. It was a great way to totally let go of what I looked like and really just be in the moment. We prob would have stayed all night if there weren’t people smoking INSIDE! I totally forgot there are places in the world that still allow that.
After we left our crazy line dancing adventure, my friend and I talked endlessly as we walked by the river. I’m still fairly new to Florida, so I am still learning about what BUGS really are. But had I not left my house, my evening would have just me and the cats. Instead I went on a fun adventure that allowed me to connect deeply with my friends.
The life you want is on the other side of different and uncomfortable. If you do exactly the same thing everyday, you’ll get the same results that you have right now. But if you are willing to step outside of comfortable and embrace challenge you’ll see things move in your life. Because I was willing to step outside my norm and go try something fun and different, I was able to really cultivate old friends, meet new friends and learn a new skill (if linedancing counts as a skill).
To challenge yourself there are 5 areas you’ll want to look at to grow.
Setting Intentions.
When you set an intention for yourself you decide the direction you want your life to go instead of letting the wind decide. When you start the week, go to an event or when you feel unfocused, set yourself up by creating powerful intentions and goals.
Take control of your mornings.
Owning your mornings is about getting up early enough to create a powerful foundation for your day. This will look different for everyone and you will probably need to experiment with what it looks like for you. It's important creating your life one day at a time by showing up as powerfully through each day as you can. For me it is a short mediation, breakfast and some pure me time to watch garbage youtube videos before I go live my passion.
Movement
It might look like walking with a friend, gardening in your back yard, or dancing while cleaning the bathroom. A life you are excited about needs to have movement. When you move your body, everything moves. When you feel good in your body, you can think straight, you can show up powerfully and more confident in every situation.
Gratitude
Having appreciation for the moment and gratitude for what you have helps focus the mind in any situation you may find yourself in. Attitude is everything. When you focus on the things you have and the gifts the universe has given you, its easier to move forward even through the worst of circumstances because your mindset is positive and empowering.
Assessment
When working your way to the life of your dreams it is great to have goals, but if you don’t assess your actions, then you can’t know if you are actually moving in the right direction. Taking time to look and assess if what you are doing is moving you means you need to measure and be clear about what sucess looks like.
Creating a life of your dreams doesn't have to be this giant mountain to climb in one day. It's a journey of owing your power in this and every moment you get on this earth. Take on one way to challenge yourself today and just see what opens up for you.