I spent many hours in my angsty youth driving around in my Cavalier listening to Ani Difranco, my original life coach. I learned so much from Ani. One of her many lyrics that I loved in the 90’s and still do is “You’ve got your whole life to do something, and that’s not very long.” I don’t have a tattoo, but if I did, it would be this quote.
Another beautiful quote that is often circulated is the poet Mary Oliver’s “What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
And finally “One life. Just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams?” Author unknown.
These quotes remind us to stop walking around in a fatigued survival mode and identify the important things. Who are you really? Who do you want to become? What do you really want? What sets your soul on fire? What would make you excited to get out of bed and start doing each morning? What can you do to improve things for others? What is the world waiting for that only you, with your special unique gifts, can deliver?
I have been on the other side: exhausted, trying to keep my head above water, feeling like life is living me, wondering where the joy is. Hitting the snooze button, then trudging through my day.
You can change this. And surprisingly, you don’t have to quit your job or move across the country. Even just a few tiny changes will start the shift towards a much more meaningful, exciting life. Start to dedicate a tiny amount of time to you. This can be a few minutes a day, or a few minutes a week. Start writing. How would you like your life to be different – today, in six months, in six years?
It doesn’t take much time or much change to give you a much larger mental shift towards your essential self. Then gradually, you will get to the point of excitedly waking up, really living your precious life, and running on fire towards your dreams.
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