If you see a plant that’s wilting, you know it’s in bad shape. The leaves are soft and shriveling, it lacks its vibrant green color, and it is drooping. You know it is either deficient in something or toxic with something. There is something keeping this plant from thriving.
The world is full of people like this. Their posture is slumped, they move slowly and lack vitality. Their expressions are dull, they aren’t very excitable, and if asked how they are doing, they have a lackluster response like “I’m alive.”
I believe life isn’t something to eek through, tolerate, or merely exist in. We are energetic beings full of incredible potential. You’re special and unique, here for a purpose and wired like nobody else. You have within you an ability to heal, learn, grow, and create. If left untapped, you, like that plant, will continue to wilt.
What is it that keeps people from thriving? Why are so many people dragging through life, unmotivated, unfulfilled, and unhappy? That is a complex question with each person needing a different answer. But I believe this… it is NOT supposed to be that way.
We owe it to ourselves to express the best version of ourselves. We need to find what lights us up and spend at least some time on that thing. And if we don’t know what that thing is, we need to spend time figuring that out. It may be something we were unaware excited us, or it may be a passion or interest that was buried since we were young. It may be something most people would think is boring, menial, or even stupid. And it could be something that we haven’t done in so long that it’s gotten buried and forgotten.
Someone might have discouraged you at a young age from sticking with something you love. You may have been influenced by family or friends to study a subject you didn’t care for, or pursue a career that bores you. And crazier yet, you may have been forbidden to go after something you felt like you were born to go after.
Well… in case you haven’t noticed, the rules have changed. In fact, I don’t think there are too many rules left. With the expanse of the internet, the ability to travel, and the acceptance of just about everything, you are sitting on a goldmine of opportunity. Of course, the opportunity to make money and be financially free has never been so available, but I’m talking about the opportunity to tap into your long lost (or at least suppressed) dreams and aspirations…embarking on a hobby or interest that gets you fired up…spending at least a little bit of time each day doing something that reminds you that you are alive, that you are special, and that life is rich, abundant, and thrilling.
You want to go from dragging yourself out of bed to popping out of bed in the morning? You want to stop counting the days until the weekend? You want to stop dreading going to work? You want to stop merely existing? Take time to think about what you love to do. Think about what gets your heart pumping, your blood flowing, and your mind racing. What did you love to do as a kid? What did you dream of doing when you were younger? Start there.
Of course, we have work that must be done, we have to do things we don’t love, or even hate, and everyday can’t be the way we dreamed it would be. But we can’t give up on the things that we truly love and are passionate about. You may not love the work you do, but you can’t keep doing work that you hate. You may not be able to pursue those things that interest you most every day, all day, but if you never pursue those deep seeded dreams and interest, you’ll be like that wilting pant.
It starts with the belief that you are supposed to be thriving. You deserve a life that is fun, exciting, and full. You have that same potential the plant has to grow, flourish, and express its full beauty. There’s a big difference between being alive and fully living. There’s a big difference between existing and thriving. There’s a big difference between the life you do live and the life you can live. And there’s a big, big, big difference between the you chasing your passions and dreams, and the you letting those passions and dreams remain trapped and untapped.