Are you getting all you want out of life and reaching your full potential? Do you have the career, the job, the family, the shining dream you had when you were growing up? Are you fulfilling the role of the leader that you know you really are deep down inside?
No? Well, you may be unknowingly turning down your own light.
Remember when you were a child and everything seemed so fresh and interesting, and curiosity and adventure filled your days?
You were bright eyed and bushy tailed. Nothing seemed to get in your way of enjoying life. You were constantly pushing the boundaries of what you were “allowed” to do and you were learning by testing how far you could go, how creative you could be and what was “acceptable” behaviour in certain circumstances. All you really cared about was having fun, trying new things and exploring life with the expectation of sitting down to dinner at the end of an adventurous day and receiving a smile from you parents.
You laughed when you were happy, wept deeply when your pet died, screamed in pain when you fell off your pushbike, got cranky when your brother or sister were annoying you, and hugged people when you felt like showing your appreciation or love for them. You always told the truth … like: look how big nannas nose is, daddy is having a beer in the shed, and mum likes to have chocolate late at night.
You asked questions with curiosity because they were reasonable questions and you wanted to know the answers. Why does grandad wear a nappy; what is precipitation; how far is it to the moon; and why don’t we go and visit our cousins anymore?
You liked yourself, wore the clothes you felt the most comfortable and confident in, and nothing you thought, said or did was wrong. It’s just how it was.
You were a shining, bright light with a twinkle in your eye living in the eternal truth of who you really are.
Remember those days?
When was the last time you felt like that? Can you say right now that you are comfortable in your own skin, engaged with life, and able to be authentic and real in your emotions? That you feel safe going for life?
So what happened?
How you act and react in the world today is based on everything you have experienced up until this moment and how you handled it at the time. At different times in your life during difficult times you have to find ways to protect yourself. You develop mechanisms or behaviours to protect that innocent bright shining light that is the real you from physical and mental pain.
You may have been told not to show your emotions only because other people cannot deal with it, or the timing is not right for everyone else. How many times did you hear “children should be seen and not heard”, “stop crying”, “stop being a cry baby”, “shut up and go away”?
Then you may have been told “don’t be so stupid” when you ask a perfectly reasonable question, “you’re an idiot” when you are taking longer than expected to learn a new thing, or “your ugly” when you put on your favourite outfit. You went away with your head down feeling hurt, ashamed and guilty and decided to change the way you act to protect yourself.
At some point in time, if you hear this often enough you take them on to be true for you. You hold your breath, swallow your feelings and like the dimmer on the light switch you turn your internal light down. You start unconsciously saying to yourself “I am stupid, I am ugly”, “I am worthless” or you believe “I never do anything right”, “I always lose”. That little voice in your head keeps talking to you long after you have grown up and you continue with your modified behaviour because that’s how you survived back then.
The thing is you don’t have to do it the same way now. There is no need to protect yourself the same way you did as a child if it doesn’t work for you.
Times change and circumstances change. You are an adult now, your environment is different and you have the capacity to turn it up and let the light shine through again.
The trouble is that you may be so used to living life telling yourself untruths and reacting and behaving a certain way that you are unsure how to change it. You may even be unaware that you are living life this way. It may have taken you years to hone and develop the behaviours that result in recurring outcomes that you would love to be different.
Are you someone who never seems to get the promotion you deserve, or you keep getting involved in dead end relationships, or things never seem to go your way?
There IS light at the end of the tunnel. It doesn’t have to be that way anymore. It’s time to stop listening to the limitations others place on you and to change the habits you created over time and TURN UP the brightness on your internal light. Here are some things that might help you.
Stop listening to the lies
Let’s assume from this day forward that those voices in your
head that don’t allow you to shine are all lies. If that seems like too big of step,
just assume there is a good possibility that they are at least little white
lies for now.
Take Responsibility for your life
This is your life. You don’t have to listen to what everyone else tells you are the right things for you. How do they know what your true aspirations, loves and needs are? Stop playing the blame game and take ownership for your own outcomes. It’s time to put the proverbial foot down and discontinue agreeing with what other people say.
Put yourself first
This might seem selfish to some. Yet isn’t it more selfish to not be everything you could be and to not turn up the light of your full potential?
Think about that for a moment. You know you have more to offer, yet you selfishly hold back. When you continually do what everyone else wants you to do the way they want you to do it, you are silently agreeing with them.
Surround yourself with people who support you
You are not alone. The key to being able turn up the light of your true self is to surround yourself with the people that support you. You can take a journey to reconnect to the creative, confident, and courageous part of you that inherently knows and operates from the pure essence of who you really are.
You don’t have to do this on your own AND you don’t need anyone to do it for you.
Find someone that will encourage and walk beside you on your journey. Find your supporters, the ones that will cheer you on as you take the steps to reclaim your power and free the light that lies within you.
Conscious Breathing
Your own breath is a great tool you can use anywhere, anytime. You breathe out 70% of toxins on your out breath. Toxins held in your body can also be in the form of unwanted emotions around your beliefs and thoughts.
Make a start today by consciously breathing out all of the things that you don’t want to keep. Sit for a moment and bring your awareness to your breath. As you exhale, consciously breathe out all “life is s struggle”, “unworthiness”, “I am guilty”, anything that keeps you from being the best version of you.
In the inhale, breathe in everything you are “life is simple”, “worthiness”, “I am authentic”.
All of these things will help you turn up your own internal light. You can start by doing one thing and see what follows.
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Jennylee Taylor is Conscious Living Coach and Breathwork Practitioner supporting
and empowering you to be great managers of your world through reducing
stress and overwhelm, and balancing life so you can enjoy loving
relationships, contentment now and financial security in your future.
Jennylee
supports people to break through personal emotional and mindset
barriers so you can be the best you in the world and achieve your goals.
Would you like more info? Feel free to contact me for a chat