Manifest Your Best Self
“And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that never were.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
Today is the first day of a new year. It is the first day of a new decade. And it is the first day of the rest of your life. I am sure you have heard that before but have you ever truly embraced what it means and then truly acted on it. What does it mean to you to be present this day, the first day in the tapestry of the rest of your life? Fortunately, no matter how old you are at this moment in time, or where you stand in relation to your future days you have the opportunity to embrace what you have come to love, to keep what is working well for you and to change what is not. You may not always get the chance to do things over again, but you always have the option to start fresh and embark on a new path, to initiate and follow a new beginning. The choice to revamp your current course and redirect your energies toward a new direction will no doubt lead you to a new destination. If this interests you why wait to get going? What better time to take the initiative than the first day of the new year, the first of a new decade, the first in the course of the rest of your life.
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” ~ T.S. Eliot
When was the last time you asked yourself what you wanted out of life? Do you know what is most important to you and what you must do to obtain it? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get where you want to be? Have you ever really thought about just exactly where you are today? Are you living your life well, healthy and happy in your skin or would you like to experience more? Would you like to feel more joy or be more fit? Most of us like the idea of being healthy and attractive as well as happy and rich. Maybe you desire to lose a few pounds and to work out more to tone up your physique, energize your mind and revitalize your spirit? Or maybe you are comfortably fit, looking more to spruce up your pocketbook and deepen your relationships? Is there a new relationship tugging at your heart or a job promotion tinkering in your soul? Maybe you are professionally overwhelmed, feeling over worked and underpaid. You would prefer the opportunity to spend more time at home with your spouse and children. Perhaps you are an avid adventurer seeking to explore new territories and unknown waters. Could it be there is lurking just beneath the surface of your mind incognito a secretly desired career change? Would you like to learn a new skill or language? Maybe you would like to take up painting, play an instrument, or start a new online business? Whatever is deepest in your heart will surface. It will bloom and blossom if you attend carefully with a receptive mind.
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot
I have this poster hanging in my home studio that I have had since college. On it, an exquisite accomplished dancer soars euphorically with freedom and delight. The caption by William Arthur Ward reads “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” From the moment I first discovered my all encompassing passion for dancing, this poster exemplified my inspiration, the vision that propelled my future. The graphic spoke to my personal desire, but the idea rings true for any and all aspirations.
“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” ~ William Arthur Ward
I remember a long time ago reading in a book by a popular motivational speaker that what you think about expands. That being the case, does is not make sense to choose your thoughts engaging only those that you want to grow, expanding them into something permanent, wonderful and amazing? If you are ever going to have success creating the outcome that you most desire in your life you must envision it in your mind everyday so that it has a fighting chance to bloom into its consummate fruition.
“What you think about expands” ~ Wayne Dyer
If you want to manifest the reality of your most precious dreams, is it not wise to give the most energy and thought into cultivating those ideas? Would not the action of mindful and conscientious imagining serve this purpose? Thus, the most important step to directing your future to achieve your perfect reality is to first
√ Envision it with gusto. What does your most desired life look and feel like? Where do you see yourself throughout each moment of every day? Do you aspire to a particular position or vocation? Whatever is in your heart use your creative mind to fill in the many unique and particular details. When you have filled in as many of the details as possible the next thing to do is to
√ Create a plan. Outline the necessary steps needed to achieve it and take action. Anything worth achieving usually requires more than just one action step so divide your master plan into a series of steps that will ultimately take you where you want to go. Imagine it like a road map leading the way. Keep your destination in clear view and then determine the most direct route and essential intersections you will need to navigate to and through in order to arrive in the most efficient and expedient manner. Once you have an idea regarding the direction you are headed brainstorm as many tasks as it may take to actually achieve your post and then
√ Make a list. Identify all the types of tasks and myriad action steps you will need to complete in order to get where you want to be. Once you have identified them put them in order of importance. A pattern should emerge. As you contemplate the sequence of events that must happen begin executing them one at a time. As you cross them off your list, your destination will get closer making more details clearer in focus. Much like the choreography of a dance which is a gestalt of patterns or sequences continually moving into and out of focus so too as you complete one task a new one will emerge center stage. Attending to each step sequentially in a methodical manner will move you closer to the fulfillment of your desired destiny. Never loose sight of your creative vision. Sometimes there are setbacks and so it is important to keep the faith and never loose heart. Therefore, it is a good idea to take time to
√ Acknowledge your accomplishments. Give yourself credit no matter how small or insignificant they may seem at the time. Each one is a venture in experience and brings you to your next step, each step bringing you closer to your goal. Celebrate your achievements with levity and a little revelry. Be humble and yet self assured. Reward your efforts with a token but special gift. Let the gift serve as a symbol of your efforts and a measure of your determination. Continue to revisit your premiere inspiration. Stay tuned in and true to your plan but edit your list making clever and helpful revisions. Each little achievement will build confidence in your abilities.
√ Reaffirm your path and continue to take action. Strengthen the image of your ultimate destination with fresh details. Implant the vision firmly in your mind. When I was choreographing dances I would begin with an image or an idea for the dance. Then I would imagine it in different sections each one focusing on a particular quality that related to the whole. One of my favorite dances was entitled “Journey Through Whispering Waters.” There were five sections each one dedicated to the imagery of a particular type of body of water. The first section portrayed the ocean in undulating waves of movement, the second, a surging river, the third, a bubbling spring, the forth a gushing waterfall, and the fifth a cool mountain lake. Building choreography emerges in a process of steps but often these steps overlap and intertwine in more of a spiral than a straight line. Content that initially came first may end up in the middle or even last. However, keeping a clear image of the objective in mind, brings order and logic to the process. The most important thing is to act. With action comes opportunity for reflection and assessment. With reflection and assessment comes new awareness. If you want to be a website designer you may want to take steps to enroll in a design or html class. Once you have a little experience under your belt you may want to experiment and explore your own ideas applying what you know as if you were already employed in website design. If you want to make money networking online you may want to start a blog. You may also want to take steps becoming familiar with all aspects of social media and begin learning about adsense and affiliate marketing. Whatever your aspiration just begin. Act as if you are already where you want to be. Be creatively present in the world of your longing and reflect on both your actual and virtual experience.
√ Never loose sight of your chosen destiny. Always stay focused, reassessing your efforts and redesigning your path. Track your progress. Be confident enough to abandon the steps that are not proving of value and creatively amp up those that are. It is not about criticizing your mistakes or judging your failures but about letting go of useless intel and going with your best efforts. Develop your talents and redirect your liabilities. It is about jumping onboard the train that is making the most progress with the greatest ease. Begin by sorting the results of those steps you have already taken. Identify what was most successful and what did not work at all. Take note of the things that might work better if you just tweaked them a bit and then reintroduce the newer better versions into the mix. Make another list and implement the revised steps.
√ Never Quit. Ward off discouragement with keener focus. Never expect immediate success because rarely does that happen. Unfortunately we live in a world of instant gratification where results desired yesterday do not appear fast enough. Transformational fulfillment is a reward that arrives only after much diligence and concentrated effort. The dance I mentioned earlier took many months to create and went through a few seasons of revisions before I was truly pleased with the final results. Perseverance and constant effort engaged methodically at a steady pace is the necessary mindset. Believe in yourself and then move forward with a precise plan. I studied and practiced dancing daily for a full decade earning a masters degree before I had the authentic confidence to call myself a professional dancer.
More recently I spent several years working on several different websites using several different applications on several different operating systems before I came upon the form of this current blog I now enjoy writing. Once your feat appears in a tangible form, others may be impressed by the speed of your accomplishment, but you know it by a different face. At the premiere of “Journey through Whispering Waters” my friends were amazed at the cohesive organization of my choreography that flew by in 30 minutes. They appreciated the ephemeral aesthetic entity that transpired non stop before their eyes for half an hour, but I knew personally of the many hours, days, weeks and months of sweat and tears, rehearsals generating and editing content, revamping structure, all that went into its creation. Fortunately the transformational long term rewards were as magical as they were ineffable.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” ~ John Pierpont Morgan
We all have the power to reinvent our circumstance and change our lives. If we can embody our hopes in our empowered imaginations and hold them firmly in our minds eye from moment to moment we can create the reality of our own inclinations and manifest the world of our dreams. Dare to dream authentically choosing to embody and own your power. Persevering is a blessing. Fear not failure for success is a much better option. Embrace your best future now. Be all that you want to be and live fully today, right here, right now. Never give up your dreams. They will keep your days fruitful and bright and your nights warm and exciting. Celebrate your passion, embrace your love, share your happiness. Nurture your heart and feed your soul. Cultivate your talent and live your wisdom. Pursue your highest power, strive for your deepest tranquility and reap the everlasting rewards.
Embody your ultimate success and eternal joy.