Are you painting your own masterpiece?

 

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau, Chapter- Conclusion, Walden.

What is your unique story?

Are you painting your own masterpiece?

You are a unique and wonderful individual with something special to contribute to the world. But sometimes you may not feel that way. You may not even think that to be true. You may have heard differently from others and from experiences in your past that make you feel like you do not amount to much. At least not in a world changing, eyes turning way. And you have started believing and feeling that way.

You start comparing yourself to others and feel less than better. There is always the bigger, the better and the more beautiful. There is always someone who has their game and their life together. Someone who appears completely together in their life and it makes you secretly envious and feel like less than good enough. We are conditioned to look outside of ourselves for inspiration and comparison.

But we may just be looking at the wrong places.  There is nothing wrong for looking for inspiration outside. But if it makes you feel less than good enough then you might have a problem. It is time to redefine your focus and look inwards for your completeness and your genius rather than look outwards and feel bad.

You may already know this, but you are really capable of achieving a lot of anything that you pursue with great determination, focus and passion. There are very few true limitations.

Every single one of us has something unique to contribute to the world. It is the synthesis of your passions, skills, experiences, strengths and weaknesses that come together and create the sum total of who you are. It would be an understatement to say that you are completely and unequivocally unique. In fact, there is none other who has your identical set of life experiences and unique qualities.

Why should you waste your valuable time on planet earth not measuring up to some invisible and unreachable image of who you are ought to be? It immensely benefits you to pursue who you are wholeheartedly rather than place your consciousness in the lack and wanting of who you ought to be.

As you go through your day, allow the awareness of the following ideas percolate into your consciousness:

1. What is your unique story? What are your most cherished desires? Where and what are you a genius at? What are you strengths and what are your weaknesses? How do you live your unique story? Or is it just a dream waiting to be fulfilled? Is it an empty canvas awaiting the painter, the creator?

Make sure you shut off the ideas of what everyone else wants you to do, be and have and instead focus on what you are drawn to, feel strongly for and dream and desire to fulfill in your life. Your unique story may be immensely exciting while being fear inducing at the same time. And that is all right.

2. The still silent voice:  If you find that living out your unique story is challenging because you do not know what it is, do not despair. Plunge in and start somewhere. Perhaps follow the union of your skills, strengths and desires. Start somewhere that captures your worthwhile attention.

If you are a people person, engage in giving value to people through your communication skills rather than despairing that no one listens to you. As you begin the journey of your unique story, the path will unfold itself ahead.

As you move through your day, carve out some time to be still and listen to your body and your still silent voice.  There is much wisdom available if you allow your higher intelligence to speak to you and if you are willing and silent to listen.

3. Paying attention to where our dominant energies lie is one the first steps of unraveling and living your own story.  Do you engage in the persona of a complainer or do you have the persona of the “take charge” doer of action? 

Do you spend most of your energy as a consumer or do you like to be dominantly in the state of a creator, actively sculpting various aspects of your life? Are you working towards painting your masterpiece or are you being a bystander in your own life? 

Take stock of how you choose to engage your own time. Are you willing to disengage from personas that do not work to unravel your own unique story and engage in a persona that supports and moves you along your unique path?

4. The cover up:  Are you covering up living your own story because you are too busy checking your mail or anything else that hijacks your attention? Do you get very worked up over things that are out of your control in your life? You may choose to stop the busywork and living in the realm of no control and pull your attention and energy back into aspects of life and your story that you can actually make a difference.

5. Comparison game: Do you regularly compare yourself to others and feel like you are not good enough or you do not measure up to someone else’s standards? Do you tell yourself stories of lack and limitation and feel powerless to take action and live and walk your own unique path? It is time to become aware of the comparison trap.

Do not allow anyone including yourself to tell you that living out your unique story is not important. It is probably one of the most important missions you will undertake in your life. The mission is to live authentically, paying attention to your inner voice and living true to your unique story.

6. The conscious choice: Choose to participate, live and develop your own unique story and not get caught up, engaged and live someone else’s. Choose to place your attention, energy and your time in developing and enacting a powerful role in your own life and your unique story. Choose to become a creator of your experiences and your most cherished desires and dreams.

Choose to live in the uncertainty and discomfort of creating your own masterpiece instead of choosing the beaten down path of safety. The key is to begin right away on your unique life pursuit.

The good news is that as you become aware of false limitations and stories that the world feeds you, and you choose to ignore them and consciously participate and move towards your own unique story, your life changes.

Become a participant in your own magnificent creation and not a bystander of someone else’s script. Choose to discover, engage and live in your own unique story.

Are you painting your own masterpiece? What is your story and how do you see yourself and what is the dominant persona that you engage in your life?

Photo Credit: Rowena Waack via Compfight