7 Days of “ahhh…”
A few weeks ago I went on a Spa vacation that I had been looking forward to for a long time. While I was indulging and enjoying absolute relaxation, I was able to notice all the little beautiful moments that usually pass me by because I am rushing through life, focused on work and attaining my goals. Then I had this amazing realization that some of the best actions can be put in place during these little moments of “ahhh.”
I wanted to share my learnings so get out your journals and notebooks. I’m giving you an easy 7-day plan to turn your passions (the dreams you have rattling around in your head for far too long) into real plans to move forward with the ability to turn them into reality. I have also included short video moments of “ahhh” to go along with each step. These will help you get into the mood by recreating the magical moments that inspired me.
Day 1 – Give yourself permission to indulge in YOU.
I coach my clients on how to create their Vision, Strategic Action Plans and a Leadership Mindset. A large part of Creating a Leadership Mindset is allowing yourself to be authentically YOU.
But how to do we do this? When you think about your Vision and Goals for 2021, are you thinking about what you desire or what you “should do” or what “they think you should do?”
Who are “they”?
- Society
- Your company
- Your family & friends
- Just some random conditioned thoughts of what you are supposed to be doing vs. what you truly desire to do from your heart
Today I invite you to just let go of “them” for 10 seconds, play the video and imagine your aspirations flooding in like the water flowing into this bathtub. Then imagine soaking in the tub of your own knowledge and self-trust for the day.
What arises for you? Put that in your journal.
Day 2 – What’s bubbling inside of you?
We all have dreams bubbling inside of us – career dreams and aspirations that began as thoughts and perhaps turned into just pure fantasies that went nowhere.
Many times (if not most times) we “Play it Safe.” We take the job we think we are supposed to have – the safe job, the one that puts food on the table, the one that helps to pay the bills.
Your career dreams take a back seat, for years, if not forever. There is always something that seems more important at the moment. The reason you take the safe job is because it is your mind’s way of keeping you small, fearing your own greatness.
Perhaps if you let your career dreams run wild you might actually make more income from them than with that “safe” job that you despise, or bores you to death, or makes you feel sad?
I invite you to watch this moment of “ahhh” while you write down that career dream that you have been holding hostage in your mind for all these years. Put it down on paper and enjoy the way it feels to become just a little bit more real.
Day 3 – Tiny Waterfalls are the Baby Steps to Success.
We have acknowledged our career dreams inside of us. So now what? You may feel overwhelmed, as if you don’t know where to start, or that there is sooooooo much to do to get from point A to point Z that you just put it aside because it all feels like too much.
Take a deep breath and let’s go into Day 3:
- Watch the video – the sound and visual are very soothing. Watch it as many times as you need to while you breathe and get into a calmer state of mind.
- Close your eyes and listen.
- Slowly think about all the different things you will need to do and write them all down – every single thought. Don’t think about HOW to get from each step to the next to the next; just do a big data dump of everything that comes up that you need to DO to achieve this.
- If you start to feel overwhelmed, take some deep breaths and keep going, keep writing it all down.
- If throughout the day other action items come up – go back to your journal or notebook and keep adding to the list.
- I invite you to do only this on Day 3 – nothing more than making this big list of action items. Breathe around it – we will go deeper later in the week.
What is arising for you?
Day 4- The Calm Waters of the Unconscious Mind.
You can leave the action items aside for now because today I invite you to pause again. There is a calmness inside all of us – our true Divine self. This is where the drive to keep moving forward comes from.
Our ego mind will have us feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, feeling like we are not good enough and all those impostor syndrome thoughts.
Now take a little time to find that calm inside you – those calm waters that tell you to trust the journey, that say “your mistakes are just more ways to learn,” that you aren’t in a rush to get to the finish line. Enjoy the road you are on.
Listen to that calmness within. This will be a key driver to success.
Day 5 – You CAN fake it until you make it.
You may be thinking, “Well, Joanne that doesn’t sound very Spiritual.” Well, it is.
Faking it until we make it doesn’t mean you are being disingenuous or lying to people.
The video today was taken inside my hotel room at my luxurious spa vacation. They told me my room came with a fireplace. When I checked in I realized that it was a “fake” fireplace. At first, I felt a little annoyed but then I popped a bottle of champagne and took out my book and sat in front of it as if it was a “real” fireplace.
And guess what? The same “feelings” stirred inside of me as if it were real. I felt relaxed, happy, joyous and warm.
We can do the same for our own dreams. How can you evoke those emotions you want to “feel” when you have accomplished your vision? What does that feel like? What does it feel like to dance around your house with victory? What does it feel like to shake hands on a final big contract or agreement? How does it feel to pop that bottle of champagne in celebration?
You see, we can create those emotions because our mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagination. It connects with the energy and emotion not the actual situation.
The more we can create and recreate those feelings and emotions, the more we are aligned with our vision and the quicker we can “manifest” it. In other words, we will get more of “that” feeling and those results.
How are you going to “fake it until you make it” today?
Day 6 – The rushing waters of our internal energy moves us forward.
Sometimes we wait for “inspiration” or “motivation” to do the next step in our success journey, yet our mind can play tricks with us in the forms of:
- Feeling resistance
- Procrastination
- Finding many things that are more important
- Putting others first
- Feeling lazy
We have the power inside of us – like the rushing waters of a waterfall – to become aware that our mind wants to hold us back. Our mind does this, not to be mean, but for our “safety.” We also have the knowledge to know this does not serve our higher self any longer.
Remember the action item list you created on Day 3? I invite you to pull that out again and prioritize everything on the list by high, medium or low priority. Make a commitment to yourself to do one action item a week towards your success vision. It is OK to give yourself an entire year to get there so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
Day 7 – There is a fire burning inside of you.
Welcome to Day 7 – our last day of “ahhh…”
If you are showing up here, reading this article and implementing (or even thinking about implementing these 7 steps) then you have a fire inside of you. There is a dream, an aspiration, a vision and a desire to do something bigger than you’ve ever imagined.
Pay attention to that fire. This is something special, a gift from above. You would not refuse a gift, would you?
Most of us have that fire and ignore it. You are here, you have made the choice to take steps towards feeding that fire and allowing it to burn brightly for all the world to see and enjoy.
Let’s go. NOW is always the perfect time.
If you would like to set up a free 30-minute session to discuss your career track and how to turn your passions into reality, link to my calendar is here: https://my.timetrade.com/book/D612N
Originally published in KIND OVER MATTER, February 17, 2021
Photo Credit: Martin Newborn
