Are you thriving in your own life? Or are you just surviving?
These questions are more than just cute ‘taglines.’
In all seriousness….hit the PAUSE button…and think….
What does it mean to thrive in your own life?
The answer I most often get, off the bat, is…I don’t know.
For a moment…envision this…
Yourself in 10-years. (You may have done this exercise before, but humor me for a moment).
Imagine yourself 10-years from now.
How old are you?
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What types of things fill your daily schedule?
What are you wearing?
Where are you going?
Who are you with?
It could be anything…an actress living her dream on the big stages of Broadway…adventuring and backpacking abroad, living in and out of hostiles…running a Dude Ranch in your favorite spot in Colorado…climbing Mount Everest… a lawyer in your own startup practice, finally finished with law school…a mom to three amazing kids and a loving husband…on some beach, somewhere…a grad student at your dream University…living the California dream…a PR or Marketing rep a big firm…no real career vision, but happy, healthy, loving life…
Whatever you envision…did you know, in all seriousness, that vision can be yours. And in order for that vision to be realized…the daily choices, decisions, way you spend your time, etc. begin now towards building into that vision, or that goal.
Your specific vision is unique to YOU. As much as that little, nagging voice in the back of your head says: Nope. Not possible.
It is.
God gave you unique passions, talents, gifts and skills for a reason—to use them for His glory.
We innately glorify God when we do the things in sync our heart beats.
So what is your heart beating for, and what is tripping you up, preventing you from truly tapping into this?
This question came to mind last night as I caught the glimpse of a commercial about hot cheeseburger girl.
Disclaimer: I rarely if ever watch TV, but it was on in the background, so these types of commercials may be fairly common.
In essence:
- Hot girl eats cheeseburger.
- Hot girl’s figure does not change;
- Hot girl in fact, looks even ‘hotter’ because she eats this cheesy fast food goodness
- Carls Jr. looks like it is the ‘thing’ that hot girls—and anyone else for that matter—eat in order to satisfy their tastebuds, and well…look hot.
Plain and simple marketing scheme huh?
Ok, so what does a commercial about a girl eating a cheeseburger have to do with thriving and doing things you (and I) are passionate about?
You see, commercials like hot cheeseburger girl used to stand in my own way of doing what it meant to thrive in my own life:
Chasing looks, an ideal, false images…I let other things in my life distract me, get in my own way of pursuing my higher calling.
AND, OFTEN TIMES, THESE THINGS APPEARED TO BE DIFFERENT THAN THEY ACTUALLY WERE (just like hot cheeseburger girl).
I wanted to be the ‘it’ girl who had it all together: dressed to kill; not a hair out of place; slim figure; eat anything I wanted and be skinny; perfect job; perfect boyfriend…perfect life.
And, like a dangling carrot, that perfection was never reached.
Instead, I found myself continually striving to be something I was not…or to attain something that didn’t really exist (i.e. being hot cheeseburger girl—someone and something that really actually does not exist).
What things are standing in your own way of thriving in your own life?
It does not have to be anything whatsoever to do with looks or image or ideals.
It could be fear—fear of job or financial insecurity…fear of being alone…
It could be pride—pride to admit you need help….pride to not have it ‘all together’…
It could be control—not wanting to ‘give up’ control…feeling out of control…
It could be going through the motions because that’s what you’ve been told you ‘had to do’ or that’s what everyone does…
It could be lack of inner peace and contentedness…reaching for the next thing that satisfies…searching for something else to fill an emptiness or unhappiness deep down (i.e. materialism, relationships, addictions, disorders, etc.)…
It could be ‘settling’ that ‘this is the way things are going to be’…and living subpar to any cries or desires of your heart…
The cool news?
Stop just surviving…because you can start thriving (in whatever area of your life you desire—from your job, to your relationships, to your social life, to your health, etc.).
It’s a choice you (and no one else but you) get to make—and when you make it…life is soooo much more fun!
Do some soul searching today.
