Take a minute to sit and think.
Reflect on your day to day routine. How much of your day is spent in transit? From one place to the next, from one idea to the next, from one errand to the next? Now, how much of your thoughts are absorbed in the future-state? Thinking about what's coming, planning for the coming weeks, months, years? Thinking about what you're going to eat later today? What pushes you to behave this way? Where does this drive come from? Is it for work, your boss, your job, career? Your parents, your social circle, or some deep, incessant need to ''accomplish'' or be ''productive''? Somewhere deep within our cores is this ingrained idea that we have to constantly push. To progress. To advance. To find some unattainable level of success. What does that success look like to you? Is this your definition of success, or someone else's? and what do you have to give up in order to achieve that success? I used to think that being successful meant finding stability. It was making enough money, working hard, getting promoted, so that you could afford vacations and could support a family. I read that now and can't help but laugh. ARE YOU KIDDING? What a bore. This is NOT me. But this is what I grew up with. This is what I was taught. This is what society showed me and modeled for me. How are we supposed to know what we want, if we can't even sift through our own thought patterns to identify what belongs to us and what doesn't? Here's the thing. Success exists within us all. We can tap into, and magnify it, the more we say "no" to the things that don’t serve us, that don't light us up, and don't support the person that we are and want to be. The more we turn down invitations, stand up for ourselves, take space when we need it, and accept ourselves, the more abundance and satisfaction we will receive. You have to declutter your life and your mind, in order to create space for true purpose.
Success to me means being so in-tune with my body, that I can recognize when I need rest (and take it). So comfortable with myself and who I've become, that I can say 'no' to things that don't serve me, without worrying about what others will think. Success means honoring the ebbs and flows of life, and knowing that if I take care of my mind, body and spirit, that everything else will fall into place. Taking a chance on myself, and knowing that no dream is too lofty - I can have my cake and eat it too. If you've made it this far, I hope this nudges you to momentarily analyze your thought patterns and behaviors. To get quiet, and listen to your intuition - deep within your center. There is a voice inside us all, that acts as a compass. Most of us just have never been taught to listen.
Honor yourself and prioritize your wellbeing, before finishing that assignment, sending that email or going to that party.