How many times have you thought you were living honestly, authentically, truthfully, and it turns out, you’ve been trying to live someone else’s values and truth, and it’s made you literally sick to not be your own shining self? For me, it was the first 24-25 years of my life. I had no idea who I was or what I valued. The one thing I did know was that I wanted a career in something that I was passionate about. I enjoyed creating visual art (drawing, painting, photography, graphic design), I was good at, my parents always encouraged me in it, so I went to college for it. But I never felt like I belonged, not through all of art school. I always felt like a faker. I know how lucky I am to be able to go to art school and make it into a career. But it’s not me. Being real is more important to me than a fancy job title. That is MY truth.
I knew what I didn’t want to do- I didn’t want to be stationary behind a desk on a computer all day. But I didn’t know what I actually wanted. So I thought and spoke “I don’t want to work in a cubicle. I don’t want to work in a cubicle.” Guess what I manifested from the universe? That’s right. “Work in a cubicle.” That’s where I’ve been for the past 4 years.
As you embark on manifesting your dreams and desires, truly focus on what you DO want instead of what you don’t want. Some of my favorite quotes from Jim Carrey:
“How will you serve the world? What do they need that your talent can provide?”
“You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”
“So many of us are choosing our paths out of fear disguised as practicality.”
Even now, there are still aspects of my life that I’ve been struggling with and only recently realized it’s because I’ve been trying to live according to someone else’s values.
