What are you settling for?

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.” ~ Maureen Dowd

Inside each one of us there is a vision of the type of life we want. We may have seen images of it in our youth and most certainly at some point as we began our adult lives. I believe that everyone has the ability to live an authentic and fulfilled life. Why then do people settle for less than they want or deserve?

When you settle, whether it be in a relationship or job, you lose sight of your dreams and at some point you may not even be able to connect to those dreams again. Many of my clients come to me as a result of the realization that they have been living their life in auto pilot. It's as if they woke up one morning and found themselves in the middle of their life and in a space of regret for all the time that's slipped by. What have they been doing? Certainly not living their life on purpose.

As I listen to their life story it seems clear that they've settled for most of the experiences that life has brought them. Key words - brought them. The idea of creating a life according to their dreams seems almost foreign and certainly unfathomable at this stage. They've lost that sense of reverence, of sacredness, of reaching for something high and something that moves them.

I've heard people say that it's easier to just settle. They say things like "I'm too old at this stage of my life to change things" or "it's too hard." And to that I say "Where there is a will, there is a way!" No, this isn't easy for me to say, I did it. I changed my life. I took risks and put myself out on the ledge. The rewards have far outweighed the risk. I found it hard to continue to settle. The truth is, the more you settle, the more you betray yourself.

Stop...and imagine your ideal life. Really stop and focus on the images that come to your mind. What would it look like? Where would you live? Who are the people you'd surround yourself with? What would you do? Is there more adventure? More humor?

Imagine the life you could have and how amazing it would be to live your life intentionally all the time! Connect with that vision, deep down, and ask yourself whether you can really go on settling, whether you can continue to do that to yourself.

Where are you settling in your life? What mantra do you keep hearing over and over in your head that keeps you from living your ideal life? What story are you telling yourself that keeps you from taking a chance on living within your integrity?

I challenge you to do one thing this week to bring you closer to doing that one thing that you've put off and always wanted to do. What is that one thing?

In peace and love,

Robyn