This post is written by our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton.
“A life lived of choice is a life of conscious action. A life lived of chance is a life of unconscious creation.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch
Do you ever feel that you’re drifting through life, not knowing how you ended up here, or where you’re going? Do you feel lost and confused? Or are you questioning who you are and what you actually want?
Perhaps you’re coasting aimlessly or you’re stuck in a rut: frustrated by the job you hate; lonely in the loveless marriage that keeps you trapped; afraid to act on the big dream you’ve had since you were a child; or desperate to find time to develop the skills and talents that you know could change your life. Whatever is preventing you from living a life you love now is the time to wake up, smell the coffee and work on changing it, or changing the way you feel about it. How? Through conscious living.
Stop resisting, start accepting
Often it’s the situation, person, or circumstance that’s causing the most pain or resistance in our life that needs our attention the most. These challenges are sent to test us, teach us, and ultimately, help us grow. They are game-changers: things we need to address in order to move forward and fulfil our true potential.
However when an issue feels too painful, difficult, or overwhelming to face it’s tempting to bury your head in the sand or look to the outside world as a means of escape. These days it’s easy to fall into the distraction trap: we overfill our diaries, lose hours surfing the net and obsessing over social media, treat shopping as therapy, and turn to junk food for comfort… but it’s all just a temporary fix. Real change can only happen when you stop resisting what is, start accepting the moment you’re in and embrace the feelings that come with it.
Sandy Newbigging
As Sandy Newbigging, bestselling author of six books and the creator of modern-day meditation and coaching techniques that have helped thousands worldwide, explains: “If life must only happen how you think it should, then you limit life from being any other way. Evolution needs you to be open to be things you’ve never been, know things you’ve never known and do things you’ve never done. Resisting what’s happening because it doesn’t match what you think should happen holds on to the past and fears the future; the unexpected. Evolution loves the moment you’re in and embraces the unexpected. Accepting life in whatever direction it flows enables you to grow, explore and deal with events as they happen, efficiently, effectively and effortlessly. Remain open-minded and you can discover that every life event is a signpost pointing you in the direction of what you need to learn to love in order to experience your heart’s greatest desire.” (Read our fascinating interview with Sandy here)
Creating the life you want
Living consciously is about creating a life that you want rather than settling for the life you have. So the big question is: are you living unconsciously? Ask yourself:
- Are you doing what you love?
- Do you safeguard your free time, I.E. you don’t over-commit, automatically say yes, or give in to other people’s demands?
- Do you get enough time to relax and spend time pursuing your hobbies and passions?
- Do your loved ones know about your hopes and dreams and support you?
- Do you prioritise the important things in your life, instead of wasting time on things that don’t really make a difference?
- Are you in control of your finances and do you plan for the future?
- Do you have lots of energy because you eat healthily and exercise regularly?
- Do you often think about what you want out of life and plan how to get it?
- Do you keep a gratitude journal?
If you answered “no” to all of these questions you may well benefit from living more consciously…
Conscious living is a choice
Living consciously is a lifestyle; it’s a skill, an art that requires practice and a habit that you can form for the rest of your life. And it’s so simple to do: Just pay closer attention to the issues that are bubbling up under the surface and make conscious choices, rather than doing things without thinking. This way you put yourself in the driving seat of life.
It’s sounds so easy and yet it’s amazing how many of us still live our lives on autopilot, doing what we always do, the way we’ve always done it, because, well, that’s just what we’re used to doing. We tell ourselves that our routines and our self-imposed rules make our lives easier, when actually they just keep us in chains.
How can I break the chains and live more consciously?
Being quiet, whether that’s through meditation, yoga, or another spiritual practice, like writing your thoughts down in a journal, is a great first step towards living more consciously.
When you start to clear the fog and see the truth about who you are, your creative longings, your relationship, or your desired career, your choices don’t necessarily become easier, but they stop you fumbling around in your own exhausted mind. You find yourself feeling empowered to make decisions that feel right or that are in line with your values, beliefs and motivations, rather than taking the easy option and doing ‘whatever’.
It’s never easy to break old habits and step out of your comfort zone: each baby step takes willpower, energy and commitment but surely we owe it to ourselves to try.
“If you want something to change, you first have to change you.” ~ The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright & Jim Field
Your soul is calling. Are you listening? It’s time to do what you love…
If you would like help to change your life for the better, to live more consciously and discover what it is that you really want, whether it’s the courage to start a new career, more time to pursue passions and hobbies, or the freedom to travel and have big adventures, or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is, then you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launch pad — and this is your community. The Do What You Love course has been created just for you and it might just change your life.
Do What You Love is an acclaimed course for people who want to spend more time doing what they love and less time doing what they don’t. Simple as that. It’s about finding freedom and building the life you really want.
Inside this 5 week online course, you’ll discover how to:
- Do what you love, more often. Very often. In fact: daily.
- Get paid to do what you love. (If that’s what you want — for some, it’s not. For many, it is!)
- Make your life simpler and sweeter — not busier and more complicated.
- Open doors that you thought were locked shut… re-open possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminate possibilities you never knew existed.
You can find out more or sign up HERE.
