[success]Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress. ~ Mahatma Gandhi[/success]
Remember when you started your latest and greatest project and you were all fired up, excited and ready to go?
Or was it the beginning of your most wonderful easy diet…or maybe a fabulous spiritual path that you’d started to walk? And almost before you had time to blink all that enthusiasm bit the dust.
It’s become a chore. Even worse you’re not sure you want to carry on.
You ask yourself? Whatever happened to passion?
Where’s enthusiasm? Has it clocked out forever?
Whatever happened to motivation?
Nothing happened. It just needs a little boost. Think of motivation like a fire, without adding any fuel it’s going to go out.
Now you’re in a state of dissatisfaction. Not a problem; change your perspective and view it as divine discontent. Life with a capital L is always for greater expansion and there are times, let’s face it, we’re not really on board with expanding. There’s something comfortable about being where we are, even if we have that somewhat dissatisfied feeling. Maybe we even get to complain about it. Now that feels good…not.
Choosing the right route
Don’t allow your dissatisfaction to go to waste. This divine discontent is a revolutionary power handed to you on a platter. It makes new, it transforms, it stokes the fires of motivation, of passion, of creativity and all we need do is be awake, alive to the moment, and that includes the ones that haven’t met our expectations.
Sadly this is the point where many give up. They start smoking again. The diet gets chucked from the highest rooftop. They no longer notice the gym as they drive by. Their great novel gets dumped, a couple of chapters in. They stop blogging or jogging.
Sometimes the ideas we started out with are merely stepping stones, leading us to the place of our heart, where our true passion lies. Have we set the ladder of success against the wrong wall?
We need to get clear. Life is filled with those who spend their time struggling, pushing against what they don’t want, without ever getting clear on what it is they do want out of life.
Holding in our minds a clear vision of where we plan on ending up gives our subconscious, the source of incredible power, something to work with. Your subconscious mind is your ally in success. Give it a wonderful task to accomplish on your behalf. It needs to know where you’re going in order to plan the easiest route.
Be really clear on the image. What are you doing? Is anyone congratulating you. Are you being treated to something really special. Use your imagination, include as many of your senses as possible and build your fabulous outcome. Imagine it as something that’s really happened, just as when you bring up a memory in your imagination, include speech, smell, touch, maybe even taste.
Hey maybe someone got you some fabulous Belgian chocolates to celebrate, or your favourite drink. It’s possible…so you can add it if you choose.
Don’t miss out on the vital truth
Attention is a life force energy, which we can consciously direct, in a way that produces the greatest rewards. Or we can deplete it by focusing on far too many things or by having a negative mental attitude that decreases the flow of vitality, making us sluggish, less alert, and definitely not so aware. This diminishes our creativity, our inspiration and our decisions become less savvy.
Listen to what life is telling you through your awareness. Life doesn’t just randomly happen, it begins and ends with us.
Frustration, unhappiness, boredom have their cause in us for a reason, so we’d better listen up.
Don’t view your lack of enthusiasm or passion as an obstacle, or a misfortune, view it as a divine opportunity. Having a positive point of view throws open the doors of creativity allowing all that inspiration to flow to and through you. The power and glory lies all around. Tap into it, your soul is filled with creative ideas. Be willing and allow.
Drink deeply
Lately I’ve been practicing saying to myself, be here now. It’s been an amazing experience. Perfect joy is in this now moment. We look all over the place for fulfillment and happiness and yet it’s there, in front of us, if we’d just look.
Take a moment right now, regardless of what’s happening in your life, or where your dissatisfaction might lie and breathe deeply from this moment. We’re so often not in the moment because our thoughts are in the past or we’re focused on the things that we believe need our attention. Or we’re miserable because we’ve lost our mojo. And we’re missing out on the journey.
Where your thoughts are, there you go.
Every moment comes but once. It’s here and then it’s gone, never to return. This single point in our journey, when simply allowed, without expectations, might spread before you the hidden treasures that lie within. I don’t know what they might be, and nor do you, until we take that moment to drink deeply of life and say yes.
Funny thing, when you say yes to life, it usually says ‘yes’ right back.
This week we have an action challenge. Take a look within and ask if you feel discontented or dissatisfied with something and make a commitment to yourself that you’ll use it as a transformational tool.
What one thing in your life are you willing to say ‘yes’ to?
Let us know the specifics in the comments below. Remember your insights matter. We all learn and grow together.
Thanks, as always for reading, contribution and sharing. 🙂 You light up my life.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle.
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10 Comments
Your title caught my attention because I normally think in terms of resting in contentment. As I read on, however, I saw the wisdom of your approach. Sometimes my discontent is a message to me that somewhere, in some aspect, I am not where I want to be. It is a tap on my shoulder to pay attention and see what needs to be done. It is not necessarily something on the outside, although sometimes it is (like cleaning out part of the attic that I just finished!). Sometimes it is something that needs to be addressed inside. Thanks as always for sharing your wisdom.
It’s so nice to have you back Galen. And as always your wise words are a great reminder that we can look at life any way we choose. It’s clear we choose to be glad to be aware of the things that we can take a look at and decide what the heck to do with them. 🙂
I definitely agree that discontent can be a powerful fuel. The importance lies in aiming it away from yourself, and use it to drive your path towards change. If you end up nitpicking your own flaws, and never setting out to do anything, like I used to, you need to take a step back, and really consider things.
Sometimes it can be hard to remain motivated… but when you remember what made you motivated in the first place, the discontent and desire for change, you can definitely find yourself recharged. Thanks for your insights.
Welcome to the conversation Ragnar, it’s lovely to see you here. It sounds as though you’ve definitely found ways to use discontent to fuel you way. Do you think we get to wherever we’ve decided to go much quicker when we do that? Just wondering what your perspective was. 🙂
I think focus is probably the most important tool to speed up a process of change, or pursuit of a goal. So anything that can help you focus, is indirectly speeding it up by a great deal. So yes, I do think so, but that’s just my point of view.
I absolutely agree with you Ragnar, hence my next post will focus on focus…sort of. 🙂
Elle-
Your words always inspired and give me a ‘nudge’ to be present, focused, and in the moment. I LOVE the phrase -‘This divine discontent is a revolutionary power handed to you on a platter.’ You, my dear friend, are a gifted writer with wise words to offer – I think you have a book that is being birthed – with love, Fran
Fran you are always such a ray of encouragement in my world. A book? Hmmm…I think it might be in my consciousness somewhere, the nudge to write it is percolating I think. 🙂
Ah, yes. That’s too familiar. So this time, I hope I’ve already chosen the right path. Starting then quitting is really tiring.
Hi Kathy and thanks for participating in the conversation. Boy do I know what you mean about being tiring. Wonder fi we’re soul sisters? 🙂