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Reminiscing over my trip to Ireland & Scotland 8 years ago.
It was an incredible gift – and it jump-started my desire to travel and experience more ambitious things in life.
As I scrolled through old photos, it made me super nostalgic and got me thinking:
It’s really, REALLY easy to feel “down” in the moment,
feel like I’m behind in life,
not making a lot of progress,
or feel like I don’t have a super interesting life.
But when I get like that, it’s often because I either forget that I -have- had experiences that are meaningful and interesting to me
or
I overlook the fact that I can alter my course, take action, or move forward in some way.
… at any moment.
It’s super easy to compare my life to those who have different experiences, are at different stages, have different things, experience other things… etc.
And THEN think that I’m not doing it right, or I’m behind because I haven’t hit certain “milestones.”
… but what does that even mean?
Who sets the milestones?
Who dictates where we should be in this moment?
Who decides what is interesting?
Whatever experience I’m having, whatever life I have, is simply the experience I -AM- having. Period.
There’s no real reason for me to think that I’m behind or ahead of anyone else.
I don’t need to be anywhere but where I am. Thinking I should be somewhere else or should have achieved certain things by now is an excellent way of not taking responsibility for where my life CAN go and what I can do right NOW.
And if the first line of my personal motto is to
LIVE A STORY WORTH TELLING,
then I need to remind myself that it has to be MY story that I live, in whatever shape it takes.
I’m grateful for “feeling behind in life,” because it’s still “my” story at the end of the day. I’m the one experiencing it – and I can draw inspiration from my past and others’ stories, but I shouldn’t define the significance of my life based on your story — which is unique to you, just as mine is uniquely significant to me.
As long as I am the one consciously deciding what MY OWN milestones are, where I’m going, my ambitions, how I improve, who I connect with, what I experience, and what I believe…
Then my story will inherently be interesting.
To the people that matter most in my life.
Starting and ending with me.
Who is affected by my story in between those points is not up to me.
What matters now for me is to constantly be asking what experience I want to have, accept that I want to experience that, and then take any step forward that will bring that experience closer to reality.
Sometimes they may be unexpected opportunities like this trip. Most of the time they will be things we can consciously decide on and commit to right now:
… sending that email.
… asking for help.
… investing in ourselves.
… asking someone to get coffee or hang out.
… taking pictures of our life/adventure.
… saying hello to that person across the room.
… complimenting someone we admire.
… booking the flight.
… connecting with someone who is doing what we want to do.
… initiating and creating opportunities for ourselves and others.
… sharing a vulnerability about ourselves.
The more I embrace those forward steps, accept my life for what it is (and where I want to go), and “go insular,”
… the more I realize it’s time to modify my personal motto to include:
// INSPIRE YOURSELF. //
It’s your life and your story afterall, and you should be the #1 advocate of you.
YOU are the one that’s going to FEEL and benefit from the experiences of your step forward. YOU are the one that can touch others in a positive way when you step forward in your truth. YOU are the only one that can truly, truly motivate you to do what you want or need to do.
No-one will or CAN make you take that leap — nobody but YOU.
(Yes, I am talking to me. :) )
My lesson: to learn to rely on myself and trust what’s within, to be the biggest advocate of me, and to stand tall for what I believe in – and in what makes me unique.
// How do you inspire yourself? //
// What step forward can you take right now? //
// What makes your story unique? //
(Thank you Phil and Scotland + Ireland for this experience. <3)
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