Do you ever find yourself in the quandary of, the thing you love to do, is also the thing you are afraid to do? How many times have I stared at this “love” of mine, my passion, my dream and I talk myself out of it because it is so much bigger than me and because it scares me? I often have let that fear and discomfort stop me in my tracks on my life’s journey. And then I realized something. The scary and the discomfort are just a part of it.
I have been on this journey of self-discovery, a journey of growth, and a journey of reminding myself of who I am, for quite some time now. And with that has been some soul searching and a discovery of my true purpose, or my “why” in life. If you have never done this in life, then I must pause for a minute and say, I encourage you, no I urge you, to do it. If you really do it, it will change your life.
So, I am on this journey and I discovered my purpose. My “why” in life. It was so powerful a realization and a discovery, that it was an emotional experience for me. It was scary and all the things that would make me want to run away from it. But it also lit my soul on fire!
I have had a choice every day since then, will I pursue my purpose?
I have had a choice every day since then, will I pursue my purpose? Will I do the thing I am meant to do? Will I show up every day for myself and my family and work towards my purpose? Or will I be a coward, take the easier path and follow the easier road.
The answer is currently a resounding yes because I am writing these words and sending them out into the world. But it is scary. It is uncomfortable. It is, at times, almost paralyzing me with fear of the unknown or the “what if.” But these things are also how I know I am on the right course.
I listened to a podcast recently. OK it was today, I listened to it today. I listened to this podcast of Rachel Hollis and Nick Santonastasso. If you don’t know of either of them and you are on a path of growth, then you should know who they are. Honestly, you should know who they are anyway, because they will light your soul on fire to learn and grow as humans.
But I digress, I was listening to a podcast with Rachel and Nick and they were talking about not quitting on yourself and continuing with your growth and your purpose even when it is hard to do so. And they mentioned two things that resonated so powerfully with me.
The first is something Nick said, “the only person that needs to support my vision, is me.” We will have those people in our lives that will try and dissuade us from our purpose, or they will “hate” on our purpose. They do this for a couple of reasons. The first reason is they just simply don’t understand it and it just doesn’t make sense to them.
Another bigger reason is they are intimidated by our passion and they are reminded that they are not pursuing their purpose and it scares them. You scare them, and they don’t like it, so they lash out at you, when what they really should be doing is searching their own hearts.
Or, people are really just trying to give what they think is advise or help based on their own purpose or their own truth. But you must always remember, your purpose is not their purpose. They can try to offer advise but it won’t apply to you and your situation because it is your purpose to do with what you will, not theirs.
The second resonating moment also came from something Nick said, “when you are out of your comfort zone and it gets hard, it is a sign that you are about to, “level up” in life”. This was a mind-blowing moment for me. Simply put, the discomfort and the scary, are signs of growth and a confirmation that we are on the right path.
We can’t grow in life without going through challenges.
We can’t grow in life without going through challenges. We can’t move forward on our chosen journey without those bumps in the road. So, if all we have is smooth sailing then maybe we need to reassess. It may scare us when we realize we are heading in a different direction then what we ought to be. And it may be scary when we realize our true path, and it has bumps and bruises on the way. But living life to our full potential is not easy. Growing is not easy. Doing what we are meant to do is not easy.
Now some may say that the directions that we take in life are never wrong. And this may be true in that we may not be living to our full potential and doing what it is that we are meant to do, but we are still being used for good in life and we are still growing. And maybe in order to live up to our full potential, we must take those detours so that we can really embrace our journey. But, in the end, would we rather live life to our full potential, or would we rather live life along the easier path never fully pursuing our dreams and our purpose because it is too scary. Ultimately, it is a choice we all must make for ourselves.
Let’s not let the fear, the discomfort and the scary, dissuade us.
If you are like me and choose the more difficult path of living or pursuing your purpose, then it is so important that we embrace the scary and the discomfort of our chosen paths. Let’s not let the fear, the discomfort and the scary, dissuade us. Instead let’s be brave and pursue our purpose, whatever that purpose may be, confidant that we are living a full life. Because the scary and the discomfort are simply reminders that we are doing what we are meant to do.
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