At the core, we all just want to live our truth out loud. We want to be ourselves. We want to express ourselves as the spiritual beings that we are while honoring the bodies we are in.
What’s that famous thing Jesus said? That’s right:
The truth will set you free.
John 8:32
This journey that you and I are on here at Let’s Think Free is me doing just that: living my truth out loud. I have committed to something bigger than me, and I am determined to see it through.
Setting Out
Setting out to conquer your dreams is one of the most exciting things you can choose to do with your time on this planet.
If you have embarked on this journey, I applaud you — I’m seriously stoked for you. Welcome to the arena, my friend. If, indeed, you have joined me here, you know that it doesn’t take long for the fear and doubt to set in. You are not alone; we all feel it, too.
It’s been 6 months since Let’s Think Free was born; since I took that first step into the arena, looked around, and got to work.
Where Dreams Are Born
Dreams are born from the center of your soul; from that deep place that is the real you. They enter the world, in my opinion, not through the mind but through the heart. We then use our minds to achieve the dream. But they’re born in the soul. This is what makes them dreams; they come from an inspired place.
Where Obstacles Live
But we all know that the road to your dreams is not paved in gold and lined with bright flashing arrows pointing the way. Instead it’s littered with obstacles, each concealing a valuable lesson. A lesson we need for our journey, and one we must learn in order to pass. This process can be both frustrating and beautiful. Ultimately, in my opinion, it’s what makes life interesting and fun.
As we set out along this path (or the road to your dreams) it’s easy to get sidetracked by the obstacles. It’s easy to get swept away in the doing and forget why we set out to do it in the first place. What was born from the core of our being has somehow become a chore. A chore that stresses us out and makes everyone around us crazy. (It’s as if I speak from experience…)
This is when most of us quit. We hit an obstacle or two, label them as failures, then quit. We quit to make the emotional pain stop. We offer some weak but important-sounding justification to make ourselves feel better – “I didn’t have the time…” “I never would have achieved it anyway…”
Where We Stay the Course
This is why I believe that being yourself is the most fundamental, paramount element of achieving your dreams. It’s what keeps us connected to the fuel, the source – the spark that ignited the dream in the first place. It’s what keeps us going in the right direction.
But how do we do it? What does it mean to “be yourself”? How do we stay true to who we are?
Now that I’m a good half a year into this dream-following process, I feel like I can offer up some of my own personal experience.
I went to town brainstorming and came up with 15 things that stand out as the key elements that have kept me true to me and being myself as I’ve plowed through the fear and doubt of these early months. I broke them into four major ideas: (1) Connect with yourself, (2) Manage your mind, (3) Focus on now, and (4) Practice self-love. Enjoy!
Idea #1: Connect with Yourself
Perhaps the most obvious, but most important. To be you, you have to know you. Which is actually the first and most important step of my four-step formula for how to enjoy creating the life of your dreams!
Here are some ways I keep the connection with myself alive and well.
1. I make a point to choose being over doing.
I have to remind myself every day to just be and not get carried away with my mind. It’s so easy to get swept away in the doing, especially when the dream is new (and I have no idea what I’m doing).
Being is where our power is. It’s the energy we put out in the world, which in turn comes back. Ask: Am I relaxed and joyful and inspired? Or rushed and stressed and miserable?
2. I’m constantly circling back to what inspired me to start.
It’s almost annoying how much I circle back. But it’s been key to my staying the course.
What inspired you to set out after this dream? What’s your “why”? Mine is simply: this is me. Like I spelled out in my very first blog. This dream feels like me, at my very core. This “why” is enough to fuel me through the fear and doubt. When I find myself heading off course, I remind myself why I started and it helps get me back on track.
What’s your “why”? Take some time to really understand why you want this dream. Then never let yourself forget it. Remind yourself daily. Recommit to your dream every single day.
3. I place a higher value on my opinion than the experts’.
Is this one ever true – and ever difficult. This is one of my cleverest demons.
Especially when you’re starting something new, you’ll likely want to seek the advice of people who have walked this road before (and wisely so!). Just be careful – it’s so easy to default to the experts’ opinions and think that you have to do it exactly the way they prescribe. I can’t tell you how much my brain wants to do this.
Don’t let it!
Listen to what the experts have to say, of course, but never value their opinions above your own truth. You are the only person who knows how to be you. You are the only one who knows how to achieve your dreams.
Never give your dreams away, not even to the experts.
4. I meditate every day.
I was just listening to a meditation this morning by Deepak Chopra and he said that meditation is the way that we reconnect with our true selves. It’s how we get at the real core self that’s inside there. My favorite part about meditation is that I get to connect with the real me while I’m wide awake and alert.
If you don’t already have a daily meditation practice, I highly recommend you develop one.
5. I keep a journal and write from the soul.
This is my personal medium of choice. It’s how I translate the language of my soul into words. Find what works for you. This is how I stay consciously connected with the messages that are flowing from the deeper and higher parts of me.
Idea #2: Manage your Mind
Let’s not forget that we have brains that like to go crazy! Gotta love ‘em. In my article, What Does It Mean to Wake Up?, I distinguish the mind from the true self. Believe it or not, we are not our minds. But we each have one.
I’ve found that being myself means using my brain as a tool. Sometimes it feels like the other way around – like our brains are running the show. Instead of letting my brain run the show by wildly reacting to all the thoughts it produces, here’s how I instead use it as a powerful tool to serve me. That’s right.
6. I manage my mind every day.
My brain needs daily cleaning. Every morning, I work through some exercises to clean up my mind. These exercises are geared towards uncovering unintentional thoughts and beliefs and replacing them with intentional ones. It’s a lifelong process.
As I clean up my mind from old, out-dated thoughts, I make room for inspired ones. Inspired thoughts that come from the real me. By cleaning up the crap in my mind, I remove the barriers between my mind and the real me. Managing my mind helps me be more me!
7. I recognize the storm for what it is – and call myself out.
Ever think so much your brain hurts? Me too. Sometimes my brain generates so many thoughts and subsequent feelings that it feels like a storm is raging up there.
A key to being me is in recognizing the storm when it’s happening, calling myself out, and cutting it out. This is often the key to my – and my family’s – sanity.
8. Sometimes, I just have to force my brain to stop thinking.
Even when there isn’t a storm raging, sometimes it’s just time to stop. One thing that helps me is to remember that I’m not my thoughts. If I want to be myself, the best thing to do is quiet my thoughts and tune in to myself and the world around me.
Idea #3: Focus on Now
Speaking of tuning into yourself and the world around you… let’s talk about how important living in the moment is.
9. I make now the most important moment.
This is something I’m actively working on. With dreams, it’s easy to think that things will be better when we achieve our dreams. But in reality, things are just as great right now. Plus, by the time we get there, we’ll have another dream queued up. So we might as well enjoy the ride!
10. I have a long-term mindset.
Being yourself isn’t about declaring once to the world that you’re going to achieve a dream, then collecting the reward the next day. Wouldn’t that be nice…
Besides, our dreams are constantly changing and evolving every day. If we kept constantly getting everything we thought we wanted we could never keep up with ourselves.
Following our dreams is a long, steady road filled with the daily grind. Dreams are about recommitting to being yourself every single day. Every day, I wake up and recommit to what we’re doing here. The fun of life is in the process!
11. I celebrate all the wins, not just the big ones.
Let’s not forget to celebrate every win! Every step along the way is important and worth recognizing.
12. I honor where I am.
I have to remind myself regularly to not compare myself to the people I strive to emulate. These people are years, sometimes decades ahead of me.
Being yourself means honoring where you are and who you are right this moment. Without wanting to be any different. You are enough.
Idea #4: Practice Self-Love
Often overlooked, but incredibly important, is loving ourselves throughout this whole process.
13. I practice self-love, compassion, and gratitude.
These emotions instantly connect me with my soul. Love is the vibration of the soul, the real me at my core. If love is a stretch for you right now, try compassion or gratitude.
14. I take breaks.
I’m definitely guilty of pushing myself too hard. Sometimes I’m guilty of the “..if I just work one hour longer…” mindsent, but our bodies have limitations. We need breaks. Check out this article where I talk about a study that demonstrates how the focus – relax cycle makes our brains more productive.
15. I disconnect and connect with something that makes it easy to be me.
And by that I mean I disconnect with the obsessive dream-chasing task at hand and reconnect with my inner self. For me, this takes the form of yoga, nature walks, and spending time with my pets. These things help me get back to me.
You Are Always Accessible
Being you is always available to you. The real you may be buried under thoughts or judgement, but your truth is always there and available for the being. All you have to do is get quiet.
Be yourself.
Live your truth out loud.
Honor the obstacles.
Stay the course.
Achieve your dreams.