By Jessica Sweet
You’re striving for happiness, productivity and success, but how do you actually get there?
It seems we’re all built for a natural tendency towards wanting to be the best we can be.
Yet sometimes, along the way, you might start to lose hope that you can become that brilliant person you’ve envisioned. . .
Maybe you believe that life just happened and you lost your chance.
Or maybe you think you never really had it in you all along.
When doubt creeps in, it probably leaves you with a sour taste, and a hole in your soul that can never quite be repaired.
Because that goal was the point of it all. And if you can’t accomplish it, nothing really looks quite the same afterwards.
But it’s not too late.
You can still be the brilliant YOU you’re capable of being.
You just have to remember how to really live. . .
1. Want More ‘Brilliant’ In Your Life
No one lives with the intention of not living. No one says, “Today, I’m not going to live as if I’m only half here.”
Life just happens. We get tired, worn down, beaten and we lose our way.
At a certain point we’re no longer certain how to live anymore, and the circumstances of our lives seem so “real” that sometimes, the idea of living a life that feels vibrantly alive seems laughable.
The fact that your body is still breathing is not good enough. You need to step out of hum-drum reality and into life as it’s meant to be lived.
How can you demand more from yourself?
Never give up on you.
Remember that this is your one and only life. To make the best of it you must never give in to being resigned to things being good enough when they really are not.
It’s up to you to want to be more brilliant, and to be willing to work for it.
That fire in your belly is the first step that will get you there.
There’s more out there for you.
2. Say No To Wishing Time Away
Have you realized you have too many mornings you’ve dreaded, too many days you’ve white-knuckled, too much time you’ve wished away?
Those are the days of your life that you’re counting down, and if you’re not spending your time on things you like but on stuff you’re wishing away instead, it’s time for something to be different.
Change what you do with your days, and you’ll change how you feel about them.
This is a really LOUD warning from the universe to do something different.
3. Follow Your Bliss
If you don’t have much in your life that lights you up, or many priorities that feel like they were set by you, it’s time to reevaluate.
What would feel absolutely blissful to you?
What small steps can you take to get closer to things you love?
What can you work towards long term that you would find unbelievable to have in your life today?
When you follow your bliss, you don’t have to start with big chunks of bliss like finding the perfect day in the most beautiful setting in the world.
You don’t even have to work on breaking the bliss Richter scale.
Just spend more time finding tiny moments of bliss.
4. Invite More Fun and Excitement Into Your Life
Set new priorities and start saying no to things that you know you don’t want in your life and actively seeking the things that are fun and exciting to you.
When you invite fun and excitement into your life, you don’t have room for boredom, drudgery, or other things that go along with lingering between life and death.
When you’re having fun, you feel alive. So go out there and do whatever it is that excites you – whether it’s hang gliding or yard sale hunting – it’s up to you.
5. Get Way Outside Your Comfort Zone – On Things That Come Easy To You
You don’t always have to be outside your comfort zone doing things that don’t come naturally.
In fact, sometimes the best way to grow as a person is to get outside your comfort zone doing things that you’re good at. If you’re a singer, push yourself to sing harder pieces or in front of larger audiences. If you’re a chef, push yourself to make more difficult dishes.
Get even better at things that you already are good at.
6. Push Yourself – Hard
When life throws a situation at you that is tough, don’t shy away. You can handle it, even if you need help.
There’s no hiding behind your emotions or defenses, or running for cover away from the situation itself. To grow, to be brilliant, you must take on the experience and survive it.
7. Always Be Yourself
You can’t grow as a person if you – or the world – is not sure who you are. Let yourself show! Learning who you are, how brilliant you are, and how many people love you for being you is key to your growth and well-being.
Keep working on your growth and happiness, success, abundance and even your brilliance will follow!
Newsflash: [tweetthis]You are awesomely brilliant: today live from this truth.[/tweetthis]
Your turn…
What’s the most amazingly brilliant you imaginable? Can you take a step towards it today?
We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below, and who knows you might just spark a great idea for awesomeness for someone in our Live Purposefully Now Community. Do share. We need your input. 🙂
Encourage one another…
Love Elle
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Jessica Sweet is a career and small business coach for creative thinkers and passionate people who want to stop being bored at work and find out what is possible for them. You can find out more about her at www.wishingwellcoach.com.
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21 Comments
It’s funny how I feel like #7 should be one of the easiest, but it can be one of the hardest! Lovely post Jessica, great inspiration for us all to keep working on it. Have a brilliant week !
Hi Ellen, I’m with you on this one. Just gotta keep on keeping on. 🙂
Ellen, Thank you!
I agree, though I must say it’s one of the good things about getting older. Accepting myself has gotten easier!
Hi Jessica and Elle,
I especially love #5, it’s so brilliant to get out of your comfort zone where you already feel comfortable. I can do that! Thanks for this amazing encouragement.
Hello Sandra, I love that you can easily get out of your comfort zone. It’s a habit most of us could practice more often! 🙂
Sandra,
I used to feel like this was cheating – like getting out of my comfort zone meant I really was supposed to feel like I wanted to throw up and then hide under my bed. But then I realized I didn’t want to spend my life that way. Growing and being terrified are two different things for me. There’s sometimes fear related to growth, but it doesn’t usually involve doing things I truly hate or have no use for.
Hi Jessica and Elle!
Great to see the guest post. Wonderful tips here. It is so important to take time to be the best that you can be in life. I love this line – You can’t grow as a person if you – or the world – is not sure who you are. Let yourself show! Thanks for a awesome post!
Hi Cathy, thanks so much. Jessica certainly gave us all food for thought. 🙂
Thank you Cathy!! I truly appreciate your encouraging words!
Thank you for these great reminders. I especially like the “Invite More Fun and Excitement Into Your Life.” I already do the “Push Yourself – Hard” too much!
Hello Debbie, isn’t it true that fun and excitement make such a difference to our life, I notice that for so many life is one big serious experience. More fun is definitely what we need to add to the equation every day. 🙂
Debbie – I find those two are really a balance. It’s so important to have both. And though it’s maybe hard to imagine, too much fun can probably be just as destructive as pushing too hard. You really do have to see what you’re made of in addition to being able to relax and take it all in!
This post is so full of encouragement – I love it. #5 really struck me ‘Get even better at things that you already are good at’ – so often we start looking a million miles from where we are to make improvements. Thanks for sharing such uplifting thoughts.
Hello Laura…I too love that thought that Jessica had and you make a good point we do tend to seek improvements in things we can’t do right now, which is perfectly fine, but improving our current skills = bonus!
Thank you Laura! I’m glad that point #5 resonated with you. You are (or have the potential to be) a genius at something. The world would be a pretty weird place if instead of focusing on that we all decided that we should instead pick the worst things about ourselves and worry about those. Not a great formula for making a better person or a better world! Let’s instead at least spend more time on our genius!! 🙂
I LOVE this post! Especially #6 – Push yourself hard. As someone who’s about to test for her 3rd degree black belt, I’m pushing myself beyond hard 🙂
Welcome Peggy, it’s lovely to have you here and 3rd degree black belt…now that’s an impressive push. I’m imagining really great things for you! 🙂
Peggy, remind me not to mess with you!! That’s awesome! Way to go!
This was a great post by Jessica. It truly touched on something most of us struggle with. i know that it is sometimes difficult to truly enjoy my life because I equate my achievements with how much i deserve. if I haven’t achieve what I set out to then i do not think I deserve much. It might sound a bit sad but it’s true. Thanks for this post because it gives me the extra push I need.
Hello Rose – what a great point you make. The idea that we’re less than deserving seems to be paramount in many lives…you are definitely not alone in this one. And it’s wonderful that Jessica’s words have shown you another perspective to encourage in to move forward. Yay for you! 🙂
Rose, That is a good point, and something we all probably struggle with at some point in our lives. As a mother it immediately makes me think about how we raise our kids and the “everyone gets a trophy” debate. I wish that not getting a trophy didn’t mean – to the kids or the parents – that you had to feel bad or like a bad person. But somehow we’ve all come to that conclusion. It would be interesting to think about how we unwind that. . .