5 Reasons Why It’s More Important Now Than Ever to Ask Yourself, “Who Am I?”

With all that is going on in our world today, life in the time of Corona, our health and safety are on the line. This is a critical time to be keenly aware of our physical, mental and spiritual wellness. In many ways, the Covid-19 pandemic is showing us who we are and shaping us into a new version of ourselves. It’s almost as though the pandemic is asking all of us “How do you respond? How are you choosing to respond? What role are you playing? What role are you being asked to fill?” 

I’d been planning to write this post before the chaos of Corona hit. Then I wondered if I should cast it aside for another time and write on a more fitting topic. I thought about it some more and came to the conclusion that right now the question of ‘who am i’ is not only fitting but also supports the spiritual wellness we all need so much right now.

This virus pandemic is causing many of us to open our eyes. To awaken. For some of us our eyes are now really wide open. Exhibit A … the toilet paper hoarding 🤪

But seriously, what have you awakened to? What have you noticed about your own response to the pandemic? What about the response of those around you? Who are you in the chaos? 

Below follows a list of 5 reasons why asking who am I? is important to your spiritual wellness, now more than ever. 

1. Because Life Is To Learn.

Life is to learn and it’s particularly aligned so that you can learn about yourself.  The experiences that we undergo mold us and mirror back to us. We start off as clay then the passages we go through shape us. We start off with blank slates then those critical moments that rise and fall in the blink of an eye show us just who we are. 

It’s what you learn in life and how you learn it that leads to the answer of ‘who am I?’ It’s also the case that what and how you learn shifts throughout your life. Therefore, it’s natural that the answer to ‘who am I?’ would change given the season of life you’re in.

If your life learning hasn’t caused you to periodically take stock of who you are then you might not be making the most of your precious lifetime. Learning about ourselves and coming to know who we are, asking ourselves, ‘who am I?’ is a question of spiritual wellness. Because as Teilhard de Chardin believed, “we are not humans having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” 

2. Because Change is The Only Constant In Life.

Thanks Heraclitus, I’ll take it from here! 👍 Change is the only constant in life and yet they say we’re true creatures of habit. You know as well as I do that it’s more common to resist change than to welcome it. Are you avoiding life’s revolutions or are you transitioning with them? Either way, the force of change is unstoppable. Whether we’re good with it or not, change is going to happen to us. 

The cycles of change are especially formulated times for us to confront how we define ourselves and who we think we are. It’s so important to our spiritual wellness to ask ourselves in times of transition, who am i?  and also who have I been?  Who do I want to be?  This question becomes crucial in winds of change because it’s the perfect time to evaluate whether you want to continue being the you that you know or if it’s time to reinvent yourself.

The answer becomes a significant contributor to your spiritual wellness. 

3. Because S**t Just Hit The Fan. 

When s**t is about to hit the fan and you know it or when the s**t just hit, there’s no doubt it just got real challenging for you. Difficult circumstances arise, some very new, like stuff we’ve never gone through before. How do we know what to do? How do we know how to be? 

Difficult circumstances and challenging times confront the core of who we are. 

It’s understandable if you find yourself scrambling. You might be trying to figure things out quickly and on the spot. You’ve never had to deal with anything this sh***y before. Who you were busy being yesterday and who you need to be today, right now may be pretty different. 

Under the circumstances, it’s one of the best times to ask yourself, ‘who am I ?’. Depending on how you answer, you may find that you have to fill in the blanks. You may find that you need to be someone you’ve never known you could be or maybe you realize that who you are is exactly what’s called for. Either way, this is all for your spiritual well-being! 

4. Because Know Thyself! 

Getting to know yourself is all about asking yourself ‘who am I?’ When you get to a point where  you really know yourself, you may feel liberated and comfortable in your own skin. That’s awesome! But then, as mentioned above, change is the only constant in life. So getting to know yourself is a constant thing, really. 

Asking ourselves on an ongoing regular basis what we value most in our lives, what we enjoy, what brings us fulfillment and so on is so important because there’s a connection in doing that and in our spiritual wellness, a sense of wholeness in our life. Asking the greater question of ‘who am I?’ can be simplified in our everyday moments when we take pause and ask things like, “Wait, do I even like this anymore?”  

As we get to know ourselves better, accepting and realizing that it’s as ongoing as change is,  we feel more positive about our lives, experiencing greater spiritual well-being.

And lastly …

5. Because There’s More To Life, So Dive Deeper.

‘Who Am I?‘ is one of life’s deep questions. When you take the time to contemplate this question in your life the answer will take you beyond the surface. 

Asking ‘who am i?’ leads one to examine their existence and why they’re here. The question of purpose comes to the forefront.

Who am I and what am I doing here? How can who I am help me to be doing what I’m here to do? Exploring this question can bring clarity and direction to your life. It can launch you on the path to your purpose. 

What greater sense of spiritual wellness is there than to know what your purpose is and to be on the right path in life? 

Until next time … 🌈💜⚡

Be you & Be true, Courageous Ones!

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 …

 

“…far better to live your own path imperfectly than to follow another’s imperfectly.” – Bhagavad Gita

It’s not always easy to blaze your own trail. People worry you’re losing it. Heck! If you’re being honest, there’s a part of you that worries you’re losing it, too. 🙃 You worry about letting your loved ones down. You don’t want to fail at life, but you also know that you can’t continue going on in this same way.

“The same way.”  This same way is the way your family has done life before you and continues to this day. It’s the same way your friends plus nearly everyone you know does life. You know what I mean—it’s the proven path way.

Yet, you yearn for something different.

Is a bunch of sameness getting to you? Feel restless about your future? Do you have a vision? Do you see something different for yourself on the horizon of your life? Have you been leading a mostly decent conventional lifestyle but feeling unfulfilled even though you think you should be?

To live even a little bit off the beaten path means living outside what’s centrally popular. In other words courageous friend, you sorta kinda out there! 😘

Your dreams may be more on the unconventional side of life compared to the status quo lifestyle you’re living now. How well acquainted are you with the option of taking the road less traveled? 

A unique life path awaits you. 🛤️

Dear courageous one, these are the 10 most important characteristics you need to following your own unique life path, so get out your knapsack on a stick. Let’s get going! It’s time to explore. 

#1 Vision : You know there’s something calling you. You feel it stirring within. What’s your vision? What pops up in your mind’s eye when you feel that stirring sensation? 

Do you see travel? Do you see a partner? Do you see a product? It’s your vision that rolls out your life path. As you have more clarity of vision, you get further along your path. 🌈

Sometimes there are periods in life when it seems our vision has gone. We don’t see anything and we may ask ourselves if we ever had the vision at all 🤔. Trust your vision. Spend time getting reacquainted with your vision. It’ll come back to you, ready to jump back into your heart; just open your arms!

You need vision in order to move along progressively. It’s like the guide you need to have by your side as you trek. Without that vision you may not have the impetus to get steppin’, let alone know where you’re going. It’s the vision that ushers the journey. So let your visions show you the way!

Even if you can only see a tiny peek of the vision, what do you see? Take some time out to see.

One way to work with your vision is to journal what comes to you. Do ideas come to you while your day dreaming or driving? Meditation helps with clarity. Spending time in nature, going out for peaceful walks and asking for clarity also helps. You can also ask your guardian angels to help you to see a more clear picture. 

The most important piece of information I can give you is to be receptive and relax, allowing your mind to be clear so that it can see the full vision. I’d love to hear about your vision!

#2 Support : What or who do you think of when you think of the word, ‘Support’? Who or what helps you to bear the weight of something in a healthy positive way? Who or what helps you stay lifted? What’s there to remind you that “yes, you can”. 

You can count on support, it’s trustworthy. It’s consistent. The support you receive is strong. It’s weight bearing. When you feel like you’re carrying the world’s weight, taking on too much and feeling overwhelmed, it’s a clear cue to open to receive support from where it comes (hey! shout out to the Great Universe 😍). It’s time to lighten your load. Support will hold you up!

Don’t feel ashamed or too prideful to be a recipient of support in all its forms. The very definition of support is to hold up and bear weight. It’s there to do that for you. So, think twice if you think you should be able to do it all yourself. Like the ebb and flow of life, there are times when you’re up and times when you’re down. It’s the natural order. Because everything is connected in our world support will be there when you need it. You may have to reach out and ask for it or it maybe it could be offered to you. It will be there. Love yourself and help yourself. Allow support to do what it does.  🙌

You hear people say, “it’s called a road less traveled for a reason!” I mean, yeah, it is less traveled … because, well, it’s not always the easiest route to take. BUT you know that already. And, that’s why my courageous friend, you are reading this post.

As you walk your unique life path, remember Support. It’s there! You’re supported, always.

#3 Big Why : Do you know your big why? The journey of following your own path can be arduous. Knowing your big why will keep you inspired and continue to drive you on your trek. 

You may have seen Simon Sinek’s popular TED Talk “Start With Why”. His mission is to help others do work that inspires them. He says making money is not a why, it’s a result. The ‘why’ he’s talking about is the one that asks the following:

Why do you exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What’s your purpose? What’s your cause? What’s your belief?

I just love these questions. These are questions that keep me up and keep me going. Have you asked yourself these? Got answers? If you do, I’d love to hear 👍!

Simon says finding the answer to these questions is key, because when we know the answer to these questions, they will be what drives us!

Our big why is the reason we do what we do. How do we know if it’s the right answer? It feels right. Knowing what your “big why” is and then actually articulating it will better inspire action within yourself as well as with others, like your clients, colleagues, friends or family. That’s pretty cool🌸.

If you don’t know what your big why is, treat yourself right and take the time to do so. If you have already put your why into words, the next thing is stay familiar with those words! You can frame these words or just put them up somewhere you can see them frequently.

Articulating why you exist provides a clear sense of destination with a good dose of inspiration … just what you need to keep going on your path.

#4 Hope & Belief : When I first wrote this, I didn’t pay attention to the order. I just knew that belief & hope are definite must have traits on this extraordinary journey. As I began to think about belief & hope in more detail, I realized one does come first. 

First you must have hope. You start with a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. That’s hope. Then you believe a certain thing will happen.

If you’re embarking on a new direction in life or just thinking about it, you already know about hope & belief in outcomes — that is, certain things happening the way you want. I’m pretty sure you’re hoping and believing in something right now. Great! 👏 Keep it going!

It’s probably no surprise then to hear that as you follow your own path, you’ll need to continually generate hope & belief in the outcomes you desire. Why? Because these two ingredients are powerful 💥 predictors of outcomes.

But what about hope & belief in you? Not just in the outcomes…

What feelings of expectations and desire do you have of yourself? What do you hope becomes of you? For example, I hope that I may experience a greater sense of well being as I follow my path. Or I hope that I may overcome any challenges set before me as I walk my unique way.

After you assess the hope you have for yourself, move on to the beliefs you have about yourself. Do you believe in yourself? What do you believe about yourself? You’ll probably hear a doubtful little voice come up as you list your beliefs but keep going until you have 5 – 10 positive beliefs. For example, I believe I am blessed. I believe I am supported. I believe I am smart.

With hope & belief in yourself you’ll follow your unique path successfully. 

When challenges come up, they help to grow and strengthen the hope & belief you have. Of course there will be challenges and obstacles, but you’ve got hope & belief in yourself!  With this understanding, you’ll always overcome. 

#5 Faithfulness : Do you love your dream? 

Are you faithful to it? Are you dedicated to your vision?

Your vision is the imagery of your dream. The dream represents the love of a co-creative relationship between you and the great universe, the universal life force energy! The journey you’re on is the unique path you take to actualize the dream.

How do you show your love? Are you faithful to keep going as the path unfolds? 

We know too well that life gets in the way. We can get pulled into lots of different directions and priorities. Because of this, practice faithfully coming back to your heart space — the place where the love for your vision lives. 

Your heart is what holds the love you have for your vision. When you lose momentum, faithfully returning to your heart space will keep you going forward. This is because faithfulness is a steadfast kind of love.

Therefore to follow your unique path, faithfulness to your dreams is required. 

Wait! There’s more 🙂 . For the last 5 characteristics to following your path, continue reading here