FIND YOUR HAPPY: An Inspirational Guide to Loving Life to Its Fullest (24 page)

Take, for example, my goal to become a travel writer. Even though I was in corporate, stuck behind a desk, I looked at postcards I had placed on my cubicle wall from cities around the world that I longed to visit. This was the first step. To declare what I wanted and visualize it, I used a vision board. I started to write and pursue this dream. I acted as if it was already a reality. Even though I was going to an office each day, I would daydream about the places I would write about in the future. It provided my heart with such satisfaction that it became natural for me to start to see it as a reality. The more I thought about it, the more people I met who were connected with the publishing world. Best-selling authors soon became my good friends, mentors, and coaches. Publishers of national magazines were starting to talk to me about the potential of working together. I continued to write and submit articles to magazines. The more I wrote, the more I was published. I pushed forward with my dream, putting continuous action into what I wanted and it started to manifest into my reality.

The next part is critical and the part that people most often fail to do, therefore their dreams often do not become a reality. They forget to let go . . . literally let go of the expectation of when and how your dream will become true. When I was focusing on becoming a full-time writer I learned how important it was to trust the process. The things I learned prepared me for where I am right now. At that time, if someone had handed me a golden ticket and said, “Okay, you are a travel writer,” I would have fallen flat on my face, because I had to yet to build a bridge to my goal.

The work we do between where we are now and where we want to be is manifested because of the experiences we have, we have people we meet, and the knowledge we gain. A bridge must be set in place to get from here to there. Trusting that you are doing everything right and that things will fall into to place is the final aspect of making your dreams a golden opportunity. If I had thrown in the towel on my dream because things weren’t happening as fast as I wanted, or they didn’t look the way I wanted them to, then my dream would have never come true. When we have goals and dreams it takes time to make them a reality, but when we believe in them, when we trust that they will come true, and when we know that everything is working in perfect order to help us achieve them, we will become true happiness gurus. That way when we want something we know it will happen. When, where, and how doesn’t matter because we know that the specific outcome we want with each dream, will come true if and when it is in our higher best interest. You may think you want something but if it doesn’t happen the way you expected, ask yourself why. Usually it is because you thought of the outcome and how great it would be. But what if the outcome is always better than we imagine? When we trust that our dreams will come true, and we put actions towards them, they can manifest much faster.

However, there is a fine line between pushing and pulling. Our dreams can only come to manifestation when we are in a state of flow. If we are manipulating or trying to grasp and make things happen, then we restrict the flow. Often our dreams will come to a screeching stop, because we are trying to literally play “God.” We try to make things happen the way we want, when we want, the natural process of dreams cannot occur. It gets restricted. Ask yourself if you are holding on to anything too intently. If so, release the constraints a little and let the process happen. Watch what miracles can occur when you let the people who are supposed to come to you come. When you trust the process, happiness can flow.

Awesome
Opportunity:

1. Declare what you want.

2. Visualize it by creating a vision board.

3. Put action towards it.

4. Keep putting actions towards it.

5. Remember to let it flow. Let go of outcomes and timelines.

6. Watch awesomeness flood your way.

In
a
Nutshell:

1. When busting through fear ask what is the worst that can happen?

2. Every time you bust through fear, you will feel enlightened, happy, and more fulfilled.

3. Trust your gut and follow through with your actions.

4. Focus on what you want. Feel the feelings associated with what you want. Don’t give up on the dream. It will come true, always.

5. Listening to our intuitive voice will always take us to happiness.

6. Fear is not a bad thing; it actually helps us know when we are getting close to greatness.

7. When you set your mind to something, it will come true.

8. Let go of the expectation of when and how your dream will become true in order to make it come true.

Additional
Resources:

Audio Meditation:
Find
Your
Happy:
Motivational
Mantras,
Track 13, “Don’t Give Up” (available on iTunes,
amazon.com
, and
playwiththeworld.com
shop).

Chapte
r
SEVENTEEN

Hu
g
You
r
Inne
r
Child

“You
know
you’re
in
love
when
you
can’t
fall
asleep
because
reality
is
finally
better
than
your
dreams.”
— Dr. Seuss

Say Hello to Mini You

Y
ou are perfect, precious, and awesome just as you are. When you were a child, you did not judge, analyze or beat yourself up for making a mistake. You simply were. You were a perfect being, comfortable in your own skin, and happy to be alive. Unfortunately, things happen in life that bring us down. People come into our lives and hurt us and we learn to not trust others. The real beauty in life is to recognize that none of these experiences define who we are. If classmates made fun of us in middle school for being stupid or fat, and we grow up relating to the world as a stupid or fat person, then we are doing a disservice to ourselves and the rest of the world. Our mission is to get in touch with the mini mes of the world. Find your mini you and hug it dearly. Your mini you wants to be heard, your mini you does have an opinion, and it is almost always to choose love and play. Play is one way to access more happiness in your life. Learning to play and make the most out of your day is as important as everything else we have discussed. When you are in constant connection with your mini you, play is a priority.

Adults get so burdened with responsibilities, but even responsibilities can become fun. Learn to look at everything as an opportunity to choose playtime over chore time. How can you turn your chores into a game? Life is a big game, and now you are playing it. Access mini you and ask it daily, “What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Who do you want to talk to?”

Trust your mini you because it will always guide you to happiness. When we deny it attention, it will act out, the same as when you deny a child love and support. It will turn away and create a diversion in an effort to find happiness. If mini you isn’t being cared for, it will sink into a depression. Our inner voice, our inner child, and intuition are all one. How do you know when you are listening to mini you? Well, when it feels right, that is mini you, your inner child (your heart) speaking. If it feels like a chore, a burden, or a responsibility then that is the adult you. There is a way to allow both to coexist together. Honing in on what your mini you really wants is the access point to loving every single second of every day. Suddenly, paying bills is fun, or unloading the dishwasher is all part of embracing life. Just as a child has fun playing in the mud, your adult you will be joined at the hip with mini you and life will feel rewarding. Trust yourself and trust that mini you is ready to come out and play.

Imagination Is Power

How do you access mini you? For starters, tap into your imagination. Doctor Seuss was a king of imagination. He was a man who pushed the envelope of creativity. His life was controlled by his imagination and he was very much in touch with his mini him. When you were younger did you have an imaginary friend? Why not have an adult imaginary friend, your inner guide and intuition, otherwise recognized as mini you? Your mini you has an imagination, unlike any other and it so wants to come out and play. Imagination is the number one aspect of
Play
with
the
World
and the reason that dreams can come true. We have to think it to achieve it. If we didn’t have an imagination we could not have goals or dreams. So get in touch with yours and let it play. Let it dance around and touch all of the wonderful things that life has to offer. Your imagination is part of you. Love it, hold it, care for it and let it grow. The more imagination you use, the more of your dreams can come true. The more imaginative you are, the faster your dreams can come alive.

When You Grow Up, Be a Kid Again

What did you want to be when you were a child? Are you that astronaut, that zookeeper, that designer? If not, what happened? Why did you decide to do what you are doing now? If part of you still dreams about being what you could have been, then consider reinventing yourself. If you were doing what you wanted to do, you would be living your bliss. Why are you holding yourself back from being happy?

Life has a funny way of rewarding us when we follow our hearts. Listening to your gut and mini you will get you to true, abundant happiness. Let life flow. Now that you are an adult, you can be a kid again. Go to the playground and have fun with nature. Enjoy playing outside. Parents often say that after having their first child they have learned to lighten up and laugh more. Being around children opens up a part of us that gets closed off over the years. Children laugh, love, and get excited about almost everything. When you spend time with them, they help you recognize the real things that are important in life. Learning to love your inner child is important. When we accept our inner child, we feel more balanced and life seems more grandiose. Everything becomes a thing of awe and beauty. Things are interesting and intriguing. We become curious and excited about life. Little things are more exciting than big things, and life’s special moments are celebrated every second.

Life Is One Big Recess

Oh my goodness! Let out a huge big sigh and throw your hands in the air. It is recess time! Life is a big recess when you are happy, and finding your happiness is natural when you listen to yourself and your inner child. Think about recess when we were children. It was a time of play, a time of laughter, recreation, and fun. It was outside and always spent with friends. When we embrace the
Play
with
the
World
life we live in one giant big recess. We slide through life and embrace the happy moments and the disturbing ones. Just like swinging on the swing set, life will go up and down, but when we are on recess it is always fun.

Get Your Fun On

“We
don’t
stop
playing
because
we
grow
old;
we
grow
old
because
we
stop
playing.”
— George Bernard Shaw

This quote seems to resonate with many adults. Fun is the final aspect of making the most out of your life. Imagine living every moment in a fun zone. Fun emanates from your pores and you have a perma grin as you walk through life. This vision isn’t so far from the truth when you discover your happy and hug it every day. Making time for fun is a thing of the past. When you embrace the
Play
with
the
World
life, scheduling a vacation and planning things to look forward to are no longer necessary because your life is one big vacation. Sure, you work, but the work you do is rewarding and feels like fun, and the time it takes to do anything is no longer a chore because life is fun.

To get there from here, you start by adding more fun into your daily routine. Immediately start to look at your current environment and ask yourself, “What can I do to add more fun into this scene?” If you are sitting at a desk, maybe add some fun colors, repaint a bedroom wall, change out pictures, put a funny hat on and smile more. Take little steps to activate your mini you and play with the world more. When we stop taking life so seriously and remove anger and frustration from our daily routine, fun and play can come out and shine. Visit a playground or get out some crayons and start to doodle. One of my favorites is to pull out sidewalk chalk. Nothing screams childhood more than coloring on things you are not supposed to. Pick bright colors, and just let your imagination go. Play more for a daily dose of fun. When we play often, we grow younger. In fact, by adding a daily dose of play we can grow younger every day.

In our culture many people worry about getting older. What if I told you I have a cure for aging? The perfect anti-aging regimen is play. Call me crazy, but age is nothing but a number. Wrinkles, gray hair, and age spots add wisdom and character.

For example, meet Joan, my Grandma. She is over 90 years old, loves to laugh and play, and she still shakes her groove thing on the dance floor at every family wedding. I know another grandma, not mine, who is 70 and she can’t move nearly as well. She has had plastic surgery and her body aches all the time. She does not get on the dance floor. Would you rather hang out with a natural 90-year-old who is rocking it out and shaking her groove thing on the dance floor at a wedding, or sit down with a botox-injected 70-year-old wallflower? My point is that natural is more beautiful, and it will keep you dancing longer. My grandma’s secret weapon for enjoying every moment of life is laughter and play. She plays every day, whether she reads a new book and lets her imagination run away with the characters, or goes for a nature walk. Playtime is the secret to a lasting love-filled life.