.. as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.' Wayne Dyer
I love this quote because it truly explains what I often feel when talking to clients, colleagues, friends, and family.
As you know I have just moved to the most wonderful sub-tropical island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. I am sitting in my office and looking out over a drizzly day and an Atlantic that isn't as blue as it was yesterday. One of the things I love about this island is that the colours change daily ... if not more regularly and today the colour of the Atlantic is silvery grey with a hint of violet and orange.
Reading this quote made me realise that I can choose to sit in my office and at my laptop and work ... or I can go out into the day and see what else I can observe. Yes I work for myself ... yes I have a number of projects that need my attention ... yes colleagues and friends do expect me to be at the other end of the phone ... yes it's the expectation of others that is stopping me!
This quote clearly says what us coaches know ... we have to live our lives for ourselves. Does that make us a little selfish - I remember one of my clients asking me just that question and my answer was 'if you don't take responsibility for what you do in and with your life, who will?'
I have made a decision that I'm going out of the office today ... I'm going to spend a minimum of 1 hour in the weather - cooler than it has been and maybe a little wet - and observe what else I can see. As someone who loves taking photographs, I'll be looking at the colours, the scenery and everything that is around me. When did you last take some time out for you?
Thinking about this quote specifically, take a few moments and ask yourself 'what's stopping me living the life I dream I could live?' If you are truly honest with yourself you'll find interesting responses coming to you - capture them. You don't have to do anything with them at all .. but it will be interesting to see how often they come back to you now that you've spent some time pondering over this question.
It's interesting to see how our parents ... our friends ... our peers ... our colleagues ... our clients/customers ... our acquaintances ... in fact anyone we talk to can influence our life. I remember being told that my future was in the world of finance and as an obedient daughter I joined an Accounting firm and trained as an Accountant. Moving to the UK was eye-opening as there were so many opportunities and I started to take them - Financial Analyst in the City of London ... IT consultant ... IT project manager ... and so the opportunities rolled in and I took each one as it came along. What would have happened if I had followed my dream as a teenager and become a hair-dresser? My life would not have taken the path it has taken ... my experiences would not be so full and fun-filled maybe ... my friends - would be very different to the friends I have now in my life ... but would my life have been less fullfiling? I honestly don't know, but what I do know is that I have tried to live each day as it comes ... not always taking advantage of the day and making the most of it ... but re-reading this quote, I'm going to print it out and stick it in places where I and others can see it. Let's see what happens ... !
As a columnist on The Psychic Week you'll find that I'm writing a weekly article and in these am exploring with my readers what dreams we each have and how we can convert them into our aspirations ... our goals ... and our achievements/successes. If you truly want to live each day to it's fullest capacity sign up and follow your own progress.
