Do you ever feel like you are just moving through the motions of each day without much excitement? You don't really feel sad, but you don't feel ecstatic either, and everything just seems boring and monotonous...classes, clubs, meetings, homework, eating, working out, sleeping, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, etc. We can get so caught up in the monotonous routines of work or school that we lose that joyous spark that makes us feel so alive; we cease to live and start to simply exist. In my eyes, this is absolutely unacceptable. In a life that is so short and sometimes unpredictably so, just existing shouldn't even be an option on the menu.
But fear not because today, I had a wonderful, introspective morning full of epiphanies, a-ha moments, and of course, my daily vitamins (but that part is irrelevant). I woke up this morning, walked into my bathroom to brush my teeth, and just stared at myself in the mirror for a good minute or two. This was not because I was blown away by my own beauty (trust me--the smudged makeup remnants and half-shut eyes probably isn't my best look), but rather, I just felt so done with my routine. I didn't feel like making the same oatmeal I have everyday. I didn't feel like doing my morning e-mail check. I didn't feel like opening my assignments planner to feel my heart sink at the realization that I have too much to do and so little time...knowing that the first thing to go would be any activity that brings me true joy...
So, here's what I did instead: I brushed my teeth, bundled up in Ohio winter-worthy clothing, grabbed my phone and some headphones, and walked right out the door at 8:30 a.m. into the 27 degree weather (I know, I'm crazy...my sister never lets me forget it). A friend of mine recently recommended that I try listening to some podcasts on my phone, so I decided to give it a go...ANYTHING THAT WAS NOT PART OF MY NORMAL ROUTINE PLEASEEEE!!! I turned on a 20 minute podcast about creativity and could not stop smiling the entire time.
The host, Elizabeth Gilbert, who is the author of a few INCREDIBLE books such as Eat Pray Love, discussed a handful of topics that really resonated with me. Here are just a couple:
1) The first related to the way that we live our lives in the confines of fear. Fear, in Gilbert's brilliant opinion, can take a variety of forms, so much so that we often forget it is fear in the first place. For example, fear can show up as procrastination, as perfectionism, as guilt, as anger, etc. Even the thought that we are afraid of something terrifies us, so we mask it. In my own life, I tend to mask my fear as procrastination and perfectionism. I am so frightened that I am not ready yet or that something I do won't be "perfect" enough that I simply put it off, sometimes for years (*cue 2 year procrastination of starting my blog*). This tends to happen to so many of us, and until we stand up to our own fear and just put one foot in front of the other, the fear will perpetuate and keep us from reaching our potential.
2) The second thing that really struck a chord for me was the following: "The book you have to write is different than the book that can be published." When she said this, she was speaking to an author who had been putting off writing her own novel for many reasons, but I instantly connected this line to other aspects of life. So many of us are guided by society's demands and desires rather than our own. In this author's case, the book she felt called to write may not be a New York Times Bestseller, it may not make headlines, it may not inspire the making of a movie, but you know what it will do? It will fulfill, satiate, and further inspire the author. Not all of us can be society's rockstars, but we can choose to be our own, and in this life, that is all that truly matters.
So, if you want to be your own rockstar, if you want to feel full and joyous, if you want to live the life of which you've always dreamed, then put away your fears, tune out others' doubts, and follow EXACTLY where your heart tells you to go. It's as simple (and as difficult) as that.
Quote Of The Day:
Follow your dreams...or you'll spend the rest of your life working for someone who did.
Peace, Love, + Happiness,
Deviva