Hey there! What follows is Part 2 of 10 Characteristics To Following Your Own Path. We’re picking up with #6 below. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet (trait #’s 1-5), you can start here 😉
#6 Like-minded associates : Always be open to welcoming people in your life who are like-minded. There’s no one in the world just like you, but there are others out there who have similar points of view, disposition or a similar desires in life as you. Be open to them coming into your life! They will remind you of who you are when you’re feeling low. They will keep you up and they will keep you going. Their presence encourages you!
Do you know who the like-minded people are in your life right now?
If you’re wondering where these like-minded people are make it a point to try to find them. Many times, they’re closer than you think.
Think about things like: what you like, what you like to do, what’s important to you, and what you want to learn about. Now think, where do you go for that stuff? Do you enjoy arts and crafts? You might find some like-minded people there!
I like to take jewelry making classes every once in awhile. Not only do I spend time doing something I enjoy, but I also get to congregate with people I share something in common with. I’ve met really nice people in my classes and while I haven’t met a new best friend (yet), for those few hours I feel at peace being with others on the same wave-length. It’s a positive experience that carries me forward.
As you open yourself to welcoming like-minded associates into your life, remember not to get caught up in what they should look like or who they should be. The important thing is that having them around helps you feel supported along your path. 🤝 You’re lifted up through your like-minded association with them!
#7 Flexibility : “Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.†– Brian Tracy
I just love this quote. It continues to remind me about the importance of flexibility. My wish is that it can remind you, too.
In trait #5 Faithfulness, I mentioned how life can get in the way of our wishes and dreams. It’s easy to be overcome by thinking it’s time to throw in the towel. It’s easy to tell ourselves ‘it’s only my heart’s desires; this isn’t going to work’.
But wait. What if we could be flexible about the process of achieving our desires? What if we could let go of the rigidness? …Pause when you get caught up in automatic responses and predictable reactions when it’s about reaching your destination.
How can you remain flexible in the pursuit of your joy?
Adapt. Instead of giving up adapt! What changes can be made to make you better suited to the current new environment?
Modify. What minor changes can be made to make things more suitable for you? Are there any small adjustments you can make so that you feel empowered to continue on your path?
Also, leverage energy! Everything’s got a surge to it. Where might you be able to leverage rhythms and flows in order to continue approaching your path with an open mind? Maybe during Summer you know you’ll be able to accomplish more. Maybe at night when all is quiet you get most inspired. Maybe taking cold showers gets you thinking outside the box.
And the last way I’m suggesting you can remain flexible on your unique path is to ENJOY it! 👏👏 Like, really enjoy this trip you’re on! Stay in touch with the enjoyment part of the path. You’ve taken the first step, Courageous One! Enjoy what you’re doing, who you’re being and all that you’re learning about yourself!
#8 Perseverance : “Fall down forty times, get up forty-one†–Dr. Kathleen Hall on a Buddhist saying about how to best follow the path to enlightenment.
Perseverance is the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it’s difficult. Some synonyms for perseverance are — dedication, determination, steadfastness and tenacity. Purposefulness.
Colonel Sanders went to more than a thousand places trying to sell his chicken recipe before there were any takers. This was when he was between 60 -73 years old! Howard Schultz went to over 200 banks trying to get a loan to start Starbucks and got nothing. After a year of constant rejection, he was finally able to secure the $400,000.00 he needed from individual investors. Sylvester Stallone was turned down a thousand times by agents and was down to his last $600 when he finally met with a company that would produce the movie Rocky. Bethany Hamilton, a surfing prodigy who always wanted to be a pro surfer lost her entire arm to a Tiger shark at the young age of 13. She never gave up on her dream. Her vision was always there. In less than a month, she was back in the water on her board. Today, Bethany is a professional surfer and now she is Unstoppable [📚] .
Perseverance is something you can practice. It develops strength and discipline. Are you practicing perseverance as you follow your path?
Aha! ☝️ I already know the answer to that. Here’s why. Keeping on the path, continuing to dream, to practice the art of dreaming despite disillusions and set backs, takes so much courage. If there’s something I know about you, it’s that YOU are one of the courageous ones. Most people’s fears are too scary to face. They risk never finding the courage to overcome them.
Dear Courageous One, keep going! You’ll always delight in discovering how capable you are! You’ll prove to yourself over and again that you can figure things out even though at first you thought you couldn’t. How ‘bout that? (🤭) You endure and you determine solutions. You don’t live with the regret of “never knowing†or if “coulda-woulda” worked because you’re invested in knowing and finding out. That’s walking and talking.
So when you want to throw in the towel, please don’t. Think twice! Practice perseverance and keep the towel nearby to wipe the sweat off your courageous amazin’ self.
#9 Rest : Grind. Hustle. Work Hard. Kill it.
Ummm, okay, but what about rest? 🤷♂️ There’s a lot of grind-hustle-work hard to succeed mentality out there these days. I wonder about the impact this mentality has on society’s well being.
I wonder if rest will ever be elevated to the status it deserves in society and in our lives. It’s kind of crazy to think that many of us are fighting for the right to rest. Americans have been taking fewer days off since the turn of the 21st century! Why isn’t it the other way around?
Rest allows us to regain our strength, health and energy. It’s done in order to relax, refresh and recover. Rest is restorative.
Many friends of mine are humble achievers. They seem to always have something going and sometimes have a hard time stopping (ahem. me). Does it feel like you always have something going on? You always learning something new, working on a project(s), helping someone out, planning a trip here or there, prepping for that thing? Can you relate? You humble achiever, you! 😃
Sometimes we can be restless. It’s not hard to be. It feels like we’re always ‘on’. Probably because we are. Our society encourages and promotes being “open and on†24/7.
I do struggle with resting. I wish I didn’t need as much as I do. I’ll often wish I had more energy or more time in a day or both. I’ve experienced burnout. I’ve suffered chronic health conditions. People dear to me have suffered systemic sickness because they’ve pushed themselves nearly to death without the proper rest. These things make me think more about letting go to rest. I’m still learning.
Rest isn’t something to take lightly, though. It’s essential to our well being and to doing our best work. Rest is not lazy. Research shows that after a period of rest, work performance improves. For creative work rest is especially important. Studies have shown that a higher percentage of creative ideas come during rest breaks, when our minds are free to wander. Relaxing makes you more creative. Overworking actually makes us un-creative.
So as you follow your path make sure to always make room for rest. The unique path by nature is a creative one! You’ll need to rest in order to generate different creative ideas when necessary. This path belongs only to you! The world needs you well so that you may bless it with all the treasure of your life travels.
#10 Fitness : (mental, spiritual and physical) Fitness in this case means to be fit for a particular role or task. How to get fit is by conditioning and training. Following your unique life path will be easier when you’re in good fitness 😉!
So what’s “good fitness”?
In this context, it means being fit in the areas of your mind, body and spirit. I love how one of the synonyms for fitness is wellness. Makes so much sense!
You might wonder how you can be fit in the areas of mind and spirit. Well, just take trait #9 Rest. It’s an exercise. It’s the conditioning of the mind and the body to REST. It’s training in resting intentionally and routinely to be suitable for the task before you. Voila! There it is. You’re exercising. 😁
Another exercise of mind and spirit is Trait #5, Faithfulness. Exercising and maintaining the qualities of faithfulness require staying in touch with your heart space. Keep connecting to your heart space. That’s the exercise … of spirit. The exercise of mind is the routine part. The mind helps to make the routine a positive habit.
Looking at it this way, it’s easy to realize that your whole self needs to be up for training and conditioning!
“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body†– Arnold Schwarzenegger
Of course, the body and physical exercise are very important. By taking a jog around the block or doing yoga, it helps with motivation. It helps in the ability to keep going. It leads to a healthier state of mind, too. Having motivation, the ability to keep going and a healthy mind state are all advantageous when challenges and obstacles present themselves on the path.
Integrating these characteristics and developing them gives you a leg-up to reaching your unique desired destination.
It’s my wish that you may incorporate these 10 valuable characteristics in your own life and always in your own way.
Be you & Be true, Courageous One! Much love …
