Good Life

You have a fundamental right to an incredbly good life! We all do! Yet, I’m not so sure that every single living soul is out here living, breathing and fully enjoying a good life — a life of joy, passion, happiness and fulfillment. I suspect one reason for this is the tendency to settle and compromise oneself, in one or more ways that is detrimental to our fulfillment.

When you settle in one area of your life, it’s so much easier to settle in others. Little by little, like a contagion, your ability to settle takes over until you are completely dissatisfied, angry, bitter, frustrated, apathetic or in denial of one’s true feelings. Nonetheless, you’re off the mark of joy, goodness and true fulfillment. It could be your health and wellness, something so basic and critical to a good life. You could compromise such that you’re not exercising, sleeping or eating in healthy ways. You could skip medications that you need to take. You can consume the type of TV, radio, and online content that has no true value to your well-being. You can develop habits like drinking, smoking, gambling, gossiping, complaining or procastination. You can slip into feeling sad, moody or irritable. You can convince yourself that the relationship you have isn’t so bad despite the dishonesty, controlling or abusive aspects, other partners and disconnect that you feel at times. You can accept your insecurities and low self-esteem to the point of never taking action to address them. You’ll be unsatisfied with your self, your job, your home, your relationships and everything else and just get by in life, never knowing all that you can be, give or receive in this lifetime because you settled.

But is that how you’re gonna play this out – the wonderful and most precious lifetime that is before you? I hope not. I hope you will reconsider. Because you deserve so much more.

The First Step

The first and most pivotal step in any change effort is honest acknowledgement of the actual problem at hand. You want to assess where you are, how you feel, what’s working, what’s not working and why. Do you realize that you deserve more than just enough to get by? Do you see how much more you deserve in life? Do you know that you were meant to have a good life, one that you can enjoy and is fulfilling in all aspects? That you don’t have to settle and how much power and control you have over how you live and move in this world?

And then…

You owe it to yourself to take action. Please, please, please start with inner action. Sometimes souls think that by making bold outer actions that all of their problems will go away. They’ll quit their job, leave their relationship or move to another city, state or country under the belief that this bold sweeping action is going to be the start of a new life. Now, in some cases, it may be time to resign. Your relationship could very well be in its closing chapter. A move could indeed do you some good. However, outer action without inner transformation is a sure way to continue the same patterns of beliefs and behaviors that will yield the exact same results in your previous job, relationship and place of residence. The inner action, on the other hand, is exactly what you’ll need to inspire as well as sustain all of your outer actions. Plus, it opens you up to ways and levels of living you’ll never be privy to if you were to forego your inner work and transformation.

Take Your Time. Do it Right.

You can’t rush greatness. Ya just can’t. So any ideas you have about a quick fix need to go. Now. Instead, consider what types of supports and actions will foster the greatest inner movement. Is there someone you know who can help you be your best self, honestly reflect on the areas where you need to shift as well as support you in constructive ways for sustained change? Is it a supportive colleague, friend or family member? Is it the support of a spiritual teacher, mentor or advisor? Is it self-directed personal exploration and development? Is it therapy? Is it a support group for others on a similar journey? Whether you choose to work independently or with support, take your time. Be honest with yourself in identifying the core themes (ideas, actions and experiences) that are detrimental and those that are constructive. Then take steps to address the detrimental while also strengthening the constructive. In time, you as well as your experiences will change. You will be living the good life, not settling, not compromising your self, and not living in the shadows of your potential. Along the way, always remember, you have a fundamental right to a good life. You also have the inner resources and abilities to be your very best, to learn, to grow and to evolve at every step, stage and situation on life’s path.

Shawna Marie is the Founder  and CEO of Healing Truth Center, an online community and resource for evolutionary living. A dynamic motivational speaker and workshop facilitator, Shawna Marie passionately speaks about living in spiritual perspective, cultivating healthy loving relationships and achieving financial freedom. She’s a psychotherapist, life coach as well as the author of Prosperity NOW! and Only God.