FEBRUARY 2021

Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind.

Be led by the dreams in your heart!

~ Roy Bennett

 

A 2-Step Process To Achieve Your Heart’s Desire

Instructions for life: “Just follow your heart”. If only it were that easy.

 

Life is complex, that is for sure. To successfully navigate the great terrain called life, it takes vision, endurance, determination, patience, resiliency, and faith. And that is not easy. At times the path can be very flat and boring. Sometimes it’s interrupted by detours, pitfalls, and mountain barriers. And you can be sure there will never be a shortage of peaks and valleys.

 

Embrace it! Life is a journey and the safest way to navigate life is to buckle up for the ride.

 

Wouldn’t it be great if each time you are faced with a fork in the road, you could simply close your eyes, listen to your heart, follow your gut, and then a “This Way” sign pops up, accompanied by a detailed roadmap with step-by-step instructions?!

Well… life is not like that.

Of course, it’s great to have a vision and a plan, but you can’t possibly know your whole life story in advance, nor can you be assured that you are making the right turns. That is where patience, open-mindedness, and listening to your heart comes into play.

February is the month of the heart, so I thought I would share my family’s secret recipe — a 2-step process for achieving your heart’s desires, together with the personal stories that demonstrate its effectiveness in our lives. Sound better than a box of chocolates?

Each member of my family, my husband, my son, my daughter, and I have all experienced achieving our heart’s desires on many occasions. So, I decided to study these experiences more closely to see if I could create a ‘recipe’ for success; common ingredients, and/or a process that would lead to the desired outcome.

 

Food For Thought (disclaimer)

Before I go any further, I would like to put the contents of this post into perspective.

We are all unique individuals, each with our own genetic make-up, personal experiences, beliefs, passions, and desires. No two people are alike.

Therefore, if we share our personal experiences with others, we expand our minds and perspectives. If we listen with interest, we may ourselves be inspired to grow just a little bit with each story, to try something new, or to alter our perspective. Sharing stories also sparks discussion, which may even create for us new dreams and desires too.

My goal with this post is to provide you with a little inspiration to think about things — to take a few moments to listen to your heart and perhaps ignite a little passion. So with that in mind, please enjoy my secret family recipe for achieving your heart’s desires and make sure to take it with a grain of salt!

What Is Your Heart’s Desire?

Definition of Heart’s Desire (noun): something someone wants very much

In addition to being responsible for the vitality of every cell in your body, I believe your heart has another dimension. It is in your heart that the feelings of hope and desire reside.

So when you are pondering life’s big decisions and friends or family offer the advice: “Just follow your heart” — what does this really mean? This is the topic of many books, the focus of many inspirational quotes, and found in the headings of many blog posts. But what does it mean to follow your heart ~ your heart’s true desire?

I believe that following your heart’s desire means that you are simply taking the next step on your life journey. Whether you are faced with a big decision, you are at a crossroads, or you feel a yearning that ignites a passion when you are following your heart there is an energy that accompanies you and helps to propel you. Regardless of whether it is the “best” path to take, I think it is the “right” path for you at that time.

Heart’s Desire Or Fleeting Fancy?

So how can you be sure that you are making sure it is your true heart’s desire and not a fleeting fancy? To be honest, you never really know, but…

…and there is a big BUT!

So follow your heart’s desire, BUT make sure to listen to your ‘gut’ too, should it decides to speak up. If your gut is screaming at you, then there’s usually a reason, and you should listen.

What is a gut feeling?

Your gut feeling is your intuition or instinct. 
It is your immediate understanding of something… you just “know”.

I am not sure if this is a widely used practice? I have found in my own experience, that when my gut starts to speak up… I listen. I think your gut is your protector and when you are veering off your life’s path in a way that is not true to yourself… that is when your gut feels wrenched.

And whenever my gut gets involved in a decision, then I get my head involved too. I have come up with a little practice that helps balance everything out and bring clarity because there is a lot of noise out there.

In fact, I think that a person’s gut instinct is overshadowed these days, by social media, easy access to too much information, too many opinions on the internet, and then, of course, there are the opinions of parents, friends, and siblings, who are more comfortable sharing thoughts too. With all of this noise, it is hard to have the opportunity to listen to your gut and know if it is in fact your intuition.

Trusting your intuition is the ultimate act of trusting yourself. But if your confidence is weakened for whatever reason, then you may be asking: how do you listen to your gut; and, how do you trust that it is purely YOUR gut that is speaking?

Enter: Anxiety.

There is a difference between the anxiety around making the best decision for you, and being true to yourself, so it is easy for your gut feeling to be misinterpreted. Involving your head in the debate is the best way to quiet the anxiety so that you can quiet the chatter and hear the intuitive gut.

I have developed a practice to help with this, and I have done it many times myself. My children have practiced it too. In these circumstances, I take the time to write down the pros and cons of the situation. Your head, your rational mind, can review the pros and cons. I know it sounds silly and maybe a waste of time, but when you engage your thinking head into the equation, you can more easily see and acknowledge influencing factors like fear and resistance to change. This makes it easier to calm the anxiety around a decision and when you remove those feelings and tendencies from the equation, your instinct can come through more loudly.

After you have taken the time for your ‘head’ to really think about it, then bring your heart’s desire back to the equation, and just make a firm decision, either way. The true test then is to sleep on it and do so as if you have already made that choice. Start to move forward in your head as if you are living life with the decision you’ve made, without taking firm action, like accepting a job or ending a relationship. It often takes just one night’s sleep, for your gut (your subconscious) to speak up if it disagrees. If you have made the ‘wrong’ decision, one that was not right for you at that time, then your gut will let you know. At least this is how it seems to work for me.

Now let’s move into my family’s 2-step recipe for achieving your heart’s desire.

Recipe for achieving your heart’s desire

It wasn’t until my son Jordan at the age of 17, explained his thoughts after having just met his musical idol, Slash (the guitarist from the rock band Guns and Roses), that I realized there was perhaps a recipe for achieving your heart’s desires. What Jordan said when he was asked by a friend, “What was it like to meet Slash?”, his answer was an AHA moment for me.

He said, “I always knew I was going to meet Slash one day, I just didn’t know when it would be.”

We had never talked about the idea of believing something into being. In fact, Jordan hadn’t even told us about his dream of meeting Slash until he had successfully achieved the first important step in his plan, which I will explain later.

Regardless, he said he just ‘knew’.

AHA…

The first key ingredient: A Fundamental Belief, mix with confidence!

Before that moment, I had never really given it much thought, but when Jordan said “I just knew”, I realized there must be something to it. It was an AHA moment because what he said was how I always felt when working towards goals and dreams myself. I would just know from the bottom of my heart that ‘it’ was going to happen. There wouldn’t be a doubt in my mind, there were only thoughts of ‘how’ and ‘when’.

When you believe with confidence, from the bottom of your heart that something is going to be, that is the first key step toward making it a reality.

There is a famous book called “The Secret”, which suggests that you can manifest anything and the universe will make it happen. If this alone were true, then wouldn’t the world be a Utopia? Thirty million books have been sold and it has been translated into over 50 different languages. So, where is this Utopia?

Evidently, it is not that easy.

But, there is something to it. And it has happened to each one in my family, time and again.

Before I tell you my next story, I need to explain to you that my daughter Jessica wasn’t the most confident girl growing up. In fact, she suffered from significant social and generalized anxiety. ‘Confident’ wouldn’t be a word people would use to describe her.

However, allow me to share my daughter’s experience with achieving her heart’s desire. Although there are many more examples, let me explain her getting summer jobs, three years in a row. Lots of students get summer jobs, sure!  But it wasn’t just ‘A’ summer job. Jessica ‘knew’ each summer, which job she was going to get. And she’d get it. Every time.

And if you were to ask the people who interviewed her, they would say they were impressed by a very confident young woman. Jessica’s whole body language would change in these interviews. Her knowing ‘with confidence’ that the job was hers, made her enter the interview with an air of confidence. In one interview, the woman told her that it was their policy not to hire after the first interview. Jessica was offered the job before she left that first meeting.

Maybe the author of “The Secret’ would call that manifestation. I call it a fundamental belief with confidence. I believe that when you ‘just know’ something, when you feel it in the centre of your being, you ‘know’ that it is part of your story, you are on the right track to achieving your heart’s desire.

Knowing something with confidence is only the first step or ingredient.

The Second Ingredient: Simple Hard Work, mix with DEDICATION and DETERMINATION

 

 

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

~Thomas Edison

 

 

Let me tell you the story about how my son came to meet his idol, Slash. It took months of hard work, dedication, and determination. Jordan, who was a guitarist himself, somehow felt connected to Slash.

I am sure many kids dream of meeting their idols, but I hope I have shown you that there is a difference between ‘dreaming’ and achieving your ‘heart’s desire’.

After much research and problem-solving, Jordan decided that the best way to connect with Slash was through Instagram. He spent countless hours learning, and practicing what he’d learned about Instagram. Jordan had a plan to figure out the HOW. All he needed was for Slash to follow him on Instagram, then he would be able to message him directly. In two months, Slash was following Jordan’s Instagram page. It was over a year before he decided to request tickets to Slash’s concert, not just as a fan, but as the “LesPaul Pride” Instagram account owner, with 200,000 followers. Not only did he get tickets, but he also got to meet Slash backstage after his concert.

And when Jessica decided which summer job she wanted, she didn’t just hand in a resume online. She made phone calls, talked to people, learned about the organization, walked in and asked for applications directly from the manager, and so on. She actively pursued these opportunities, with the goal of getting an interview. And I told you what happened in the interviews.

 

 

Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.

~Sam Ewing

 

 

It was our sub-conscious that led us there

I have to explain that none of us have ever consciously followed this process that I am describing to you. It is only upon reflection, after many many years of life’s experiences, and observing my children as they are turning into adults, that I gave this any thought. COVID has given me much time to reflect. I am currently trying to build awareness of my new venture createLIFEBOOKS, and I have yet to make this magic happen yet here, but I am digging deep to search for my true heart’s desire with regards to how I best deliver what I believe so passionately about.

I can only tell you what I know from my first-hand experiences… for that, I can be genuine. I can also tell you for sure that never were desires fulfilled without hard work and determination. You cannot just think it and know it and then sit back and wait for it to happen. Maybe for some, it works out that way? But it is not often things just fall into your lap. And if you are not prepared to do the work… then likely you don’t have enough passion to make it happen, perhaps then you should rewind and listen to your gut.

FEBRUARY 10-DAY CHALLENGE:

Explore your heart’s desires

The focus for February has traditionally been the valentine’s day heart. This year for a change, I challenge you to focus on your own heart.

Every day for 10 Days I suggest that you take 10 minutes to yourself. Clear away all of the clutter and noise of the day, your responsibilities, challenges, and worries. Take 10 minutes to quiet the mind and listen to your heart. What does it desire? You may not know at first, because it has been too long since you’ve asked. You have 10 days to explore all corners of your heart. Peel away the layers that mask your deepest desires. Dig deep and listen to your passion… your heart’s desires?

In doing so, you may uncover a desire you’ve long buried, or perhaps discover something surprisingly new.  In stirring these feelings you may also be motivated to act on them.

10 Days Of Focussin On Your Heart’s Desire

Let’s see what 10 days of focusing on your hopes and desires can do for your mood! It may act as a fan for that little fire that burns deep in your heart. It can help you live more mindfully of who you really are, and it may be the little inspiration that you need to explore the idea of striving for your hopes and dreams. We are in the depths of winter so a little desire can most certainly warm things up from the inside out.

And as I have explained, if you want to realize your heart’s desire, then you have a lot of work ahead of you. But I’ve always said that if you’re living your passion, then it doesn’t feel like work. And if you are lucky enough to be in this position, then your life is a true gift ~ be grateful!

I hope you enjoy this month’s FREE ARTWORK. Feel free to print it off from the e-mail (you will get it if you subscribe to my monthly newsletters). I hope it leaves you inspired.