Be Empowered ~ Hope

The first full moon of 2015 is here, Happy New Year! Traditionally this is a time to renew, reset, and affirm our goals for the new year ahead. A full moon brings strength and light, perfect for manifesting whatever your heart desires.   

Perhaps you have already committed to a New Years resolution. Maybe you are still contemplating, prioritising, or just plain procrastinating. Whatever the case, it seems we all want to feel hopeful in some way. I think it is interesting that hope is defined as a noun. Under that heading it would be considered a thing, but hope is not a tangible item. Hope is a feeling. So how do we get to that feeling? First, we need to know what it is we want. Ask yourself; "What is missing that would give me a sense of completion? What is it that I am longing for?"  Ask from the heart.

It is not uncommon to come up blank. How many of us really know what we want? Or, perhaps we have a long list and don’t know what we want first. Maybe our needs trump the wish list and we are afraid to dream. This simple exercise can help us flesh out and prioritise these goals. It is borrowed from Tim Ferriss, author of The 4 Hour series of books. (I highly recommend them).

On a piece of paper write down and list 1 – 5 accordingly.

5 things I want to be

5 things I want to do

5 places I want to go

       Now, fill in the answers.  You may find this a challenge at first. If there are blank spaces this is okay. Leave it blank until you come up with something. This at least gives us a road map and is a great exercise in introspection.

Now let’s look at each category individually.

5 things I want to be

       If you are working towards a goal, for example a specific course of study, like a degree, you might add “teacher” to your list of 5, or if you enjoy painting you may want to include “artist”. But perhaps there is some hidden desire to be something that seems out of reach, like a drummer in a band. Write it down! Think about the parentally correct ideas we tell our kids. “You can be whatever you want to be!”  This is your chance. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can STILL be whatever you want to be!  Write it down!

5 things I want to do

       This presents its own set of challenges in that we tend to limit ourselves. These limitations come in many forms. Lack of resources is the biggest inhibitor. As you consider this list, imagine that you have abundant resources. There are endless amounts of time and/or funds to do these 5 things. When that is the case it will be much easier to complete the list. Write them down!

5 places I want to go

       We have all said at one time or another, “I would love to go (there)…” Maybe a scene in a movie or pictures in a magazine inspire us. There are lots of reasons to be enthused to travel, and just as many obstacles to prevent us. In this instance, pretend there are no barriers. These places do not need to be exotic vacation spots either. Maybe you want to go to Ohio to see your relatives, or for a hike in the Adirondack high peaks. Write it down!

I encourage you to keep this list somewhere that you can look at it frequently. You might find yourself adding or even editing the list as time goes on. Then what? As you review your lists, notice if there is anything that you can be doing to move you towards any of these items. If you want to BE an artist, then notice, when was the last time you picked up a sketchpad? Or maybe take something you have created and have it framed to hang on the wall or better still, give as a gift. On your DO list, you might have included “pay off all my bills”. Start with one bill. As Dave Ramsey, financial freedom guru suggests, work towards a pay off of the smallest bill first to achieve sense of accomplishment, thus providing motivation to keep going. Baby steps are still steps. Places to GO can actually be the easiest to work towards. With technology today we can explore anywhere on this planet! A trip to Ireland can be as simple as choosing a destination on Google Earth. Explore, learn about the area and watch for opportunities. Did you know that there is a website www.CouchSurfing.org? You can literally couch surf across the world for free!

Aligning yourself with the correct frequencies makes all the difference in moving toward your dreams and desires. It can help us to actually see ourselves “as”, “doing” or “going”. A road map can be the first tool to feeling hopeful and ultimately   ...               

Be Empowered by Hope!

Dance by the light of the moon