My Top 5 Tips to a more fulfilled meaningful life (2)

fulfilled meaningful life (part 2)

Do you ever ask yourself “what am I doing with my life? Is this it?”

Tip 2: Feel the fear and do it anyway

You’ve imagined a life you’d love and your rational brain can’t accept it.  Sadly that’s just part of being human.

When you dare to dream; to imagine a life you really want, up pops your old friend the saboteur telling you all sorts of negative things:

  • That’s not possible
  • How can you do that?
  • Why do you think that?
  • Wow, if you tell anyone that they’ll think you’re stupid
  • You can’t have that!

In short, you’re not enough.  You’re not good enough.  There’s no point imagining that you can change your life.

This is called conditioning; and describes the situation where the way you were bought up to think, feel and behave is raising its ugly head to keep your behaviour aligned with what was seen to be right in your family, culture or religion.

Conditioning speaks to you in the ‘voice of the saboteur’ and identifying (and ignoring!) this voice is the single best thing you can do for yourself so you can stay on track to a happier, more fulfilled and meaningful life.

I’ve been feeling like this for a long time now– I feel stuck in a rut and can’t see a way out

Tip 3: Change your mind to change your life

So that’s it.  Game over. Life over.  This is all you can expect.

If you think that you can’t change who you are, you’re probably feeling quite miserable right now.

In which case, you may like to know that neuroscience research and evidence says we can all change how we think, behave and even feel about anything in our life.  Yes, even you.

 

Our ability to do this is called neuroplasticity and it means that all of these things can be altered as they are malleable even into old age:

  • Your thought patterns
  • The way you behave
  • Ingrained ways that you respond in certain situations

This completely discredits dusty old scientific thinking that the brain develops mainly in childhood and then remains fixed. It turns out that you can teach old dogs new tricks!

Isn’t that amazing? It’s been scientifically proven that you can change your perspective on anything you turn your mind to.  If you can change your perspective and think that anything is possible, then it is!

So, you have a choice.  You can design the life you want. You can achieve your dreams even if you’re not sure what they are right now.

I feel so overwhelmed just thinking about all of this

Tip 4: Plan & Act

Dreaming without planning and actions can be overwhelming.

But remember: this is your life we’re talking about. If you really want to change things; how you feel on a daily basis and, say, the next forty years you have on this planet, then please do something about it. As the poet Mary Oliver once wrote:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?”

Here’s how to start turning your vision into reality:

  • Create a vision board. If you’re not sure how to make one, look online there are loads of good ones these days, or my preferred is good old cardboard and images (again plenty now online).
  • Create a timeline complete with the targets and goals you know you need to hit. Make sure you have deadlines. I do this with all my clients, as when you’ve broken tasks down they seem much more achievable.

Thinking about all of this makes me feel even more anxious and stressed out

Tip 5: Fill up your tank

Changing your life can be a stressful business and it is hard work.  However, it’s so much more rewarding than living an unfulfilled life (and you’re probably stressed and anxious now aren’t you?).   To move from boredom, stress and anxiety to living the life you want, you need to make sure you are looking after yourself and that your self-care tank is always full.

If your saboteur is already saying “but I don’t have the time / I need to look after my kids/partner/everyone else / I have a full-time job” then here’s a famous saying for you…

 

Make sure that tank of yours is more full than empty, and get your oxygen mask on before you put it on others…. Here’s how:

  • Meditation and exercise are the best things you can do for yourself to fight anxiety and stress and nurture your mind, body and soul.
  • Take time out and do something that makes you feel better; whether it be reading a good book, phoning a friend or walking in the woods.
  • Get up earlier and create a morning routine that will have you actively working on changing your life on a daily basis before your usual morning routine kicks in.

When you’re on your deathbed looking back at your life, what do you want to be able to say about it? What will you be glad about? What will make you smile? Do you really want to be one of those people who looks back and has so many deathbed regrets?

Please share if this has been useful or inspiring.

Need help redesigning your life + career? There are a few ways I can do that
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