“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” – Joseph Campbell
It is said that life is too short but another school of thought believes that what really makes it too short is because people take too long, if they do, to discover themselves and live the life they are supposed to live. Well, if you look deep inside yourself properly and understand what you are all about and then apply yourself to certain opportunities around you, doors open that you didn’t even realize were there. The greatest accomplishment and reward a person can ever have is not just winning some global prize and fame, but it’s winning your life back from what other people think it should be and live with pride and fulfilment.
The field of psychology called positive psychology which is trying to look more properly at what makes us fulfilled and the conditions under which these things come about has found spiritual well-being as the main source of fulfilment.
So, what do we need to do to recreate ourselves to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling? Let’s look at the following steps to help us get started:
- We live in two worlds – Inner and Outer.
A. Inner World.
Aptitude: This world is about your aptitudes and passions. Your aptitudes are your natural talents, those things that you are naturally good at. One of the problems you confront is that we live in cultures with a very narrow conception of aptitude and it has been promulgated systematically through many of our education systems. In schools, we tend to confuse all forms of intellectual ability with IQ or academic ability while human talent is tremendously diverse. Somethings people are good at are belittled and discouraged and the consequence of that is that people often conclude they’re not very good at anything that is being accepted by the world as good enough. So, the question is not whether or not you have the talent, you do! The correct question is, what is it?
Passions: These are the things you love to do. Finding your passion is an intriguing process. These are the things that fulfil you. For me, it’s speaking, writing, reading, coaching and coming up with new ideas of doing things. Your passion is what feeds your spirit, those things that give you a deep sense of reward, meaning and purpose. You have to find those activities that feed your spirit, that lift you up and inject you with positive energy.
If you are doing something you love, at the end of the week you might feel physically exhausted but on a high spiritually, it turns your energy. If, on the other hand, you are doing things you don’t like or care for, you might be physically fine but feel depressed. This is difference between the two. If you do what you love, an hour feels like five minutes. If you do what you don’t love, five minutes feels like an hour.
This Inner World, is about an inward journey, getting to know yourself better. Finding your flow, that place where your aptitude meets your passion. To find your flow, you have to want to, if you haven’t found yet.
B. Outer World.
This outer world is about opportunities and the people out there. As human beings, theory shouldn’t be confused with the reality. We are in different roles in different situations, with different people bringing out different things and suppressing different things in us. Different aspects of ourselves are revealed in different situations.
So, open yourself to the world within and around you and see new opportunities. Live the life that is most authentic to you, rather than conforming to the ways of the world.
- See and approach life as organic (quest) rather than a journey (linear).
In my understanding, the difference between a journey and a quest is that a journey is about having a clear destination and planning your way to reach it. In this instance, you know what it is and where it is. A quest, however, is a journey you undertake whose outcome is not certain. You set off in high spirits and optimistically, not really knowing the destination and how to get there. A quest is a journey of self-discovery and you may find yourself discovering things along the way you hadn’t anticipated in unexpected places. A quest may lead you to a foreign shore which may turn out to be a better option than the one you had in mind. The opposite may also be true.
Don’t let the greed of wanting and having the best things get in the way of you being the best. For our world to get better, best people are required because being the best positions you to do and produce better things.
So, right now, the best to do is to embark on an inward journey to find your inner strengths and unleash your power.
Veli Ndaba is a Professional and Motivational Speaker, Life-Coach and Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, Author of four books (You Are Born to Win, Your Dream is Calling You and SWITCH ON! And Set Your Soul On Fire!), Newspaper Columnist and Entrepreneur. To book him to speak at your next event or to help you and your team unleash your greatness, contact him on veli@velindaba.com, www.velindaba.com or +27 83 304 9773