How to Find a Fulfilling Life Path Beyond Occasional Happiness

Happiness is the fleeting joy I experience when the unpredictable or unplanned goes my way. Then, it is gone. I’ve spent most of my life pursuing happiness, because it conveniently relieves me of the monotony of living the cold, numb reality paying bills, working on a job I hate, and not seeing a light at the end of this 30 – 40 year tunnel of doom. Yeah, happiness looks pretty good, but it is only a vacation from my real life – can’t seem to take enough of them or stop thinking about them, right?  Happiness is nothing more than a legal addiction that robs me of a consciously and continuously filling existence and gives me the painful, destructive alternative happiness hands us, when it’s not happening often enough – like too much food, drugs, alcohol, sex, thrill seeking…none of it lasts for long. So, I’ve taken a step back from the bright spark of happiness’ temporary warmth and started seeking fulfillment’s soul warming glow that is changing my tunnel of doom into a tunnel of dreams for the next 30 – 40 years.

I have begun asking myself these questions and began looking for answers at a place called The Gift Table, where fulfillment brings about sustained happiness without the drama of addiction and gives twice the high:

• .       Do you look forward to living your life, as is, everyday or do you dream of a different life?
•        Do you spend your days wondering or feeling like you want or should be somewhere else doing something more lucrative with a higher purpose?
•        Do you feel like a “Calling” or “Truth” has gone unrealized or recognized in your daily life?
•        Are these feelings creating stress in your daily life or has this new curiousness begun settling in with a sudden urge to consider a more fulfilling life path?
•         With visceral feeling to full knowledge of a new path, does the thought of pursing this path feel like flipping over your Hallmark holiday table with your grandmother’s fine china on it?
•        How can I change my path, meaningfully, while honoring the life I’ve built and the people I love?
•        How can I see clearly my compelling path toward the soul warming vision of a life fulfilled for the years to come?

Think carefully about these questions. Share your thoughts with 1 or 2 confidants who truly and fully loves, supports, and stands with you in tough times – not just anyone. And, know the following about you is true:

1.         You are special, rare, and unique in the Cosmos – so is your unique gifting
2.         You matter and deserve a fulfilling life
3.         You and your unique talent are expected – you can feel it, right?
4.         You are destined to fill others up, before being filled up – guaranteed
5.         You determine your gift’s changing path and its direction
6.         Your greatest success, in life, will happen through your gifting
7.         You must be prepared for adversity along the way to living along your chosen path to a more fulfilling life
8.        You must be quiet and reflect often on your gift and its use
9.        You must not confuse your gifts with your competencies
10. .     You must give it away or it robs you complete fulfillment beyond financial means

We’ll talk more next time,when we continue unraveling this beautiful mystery called the Gift Table and our personal journey toward more fulfilling lives.

How to Find Your True Calling?

To fully understand a "True Calling", I suggest examining the sum of its parts, to gain insight into the exponential power of the whole.

 "TRUE"

Merriam Webster's online dictionary gives us these little gems about viewing ourselves and the truth about who we are and are becoming each day. Under the full definition of "True", Merriam Webster offers these definitions:

2a (3): fully realized or fulfilled true

2c  being that which is the case rather than what is manifest or assumed true

 dimension of the problem

5a that is fitted or formed or that functions accurately

Here's the Truth about "True and You":  You are fitted or formed, factually, to be fully realized or fulfilled in pursuit of life. The pursuit of life you are seeking has many names, yet one sticks for me: Your gift. You were designed with a gift and pathway ensuring your best possible life. How do you find this gift? Listen for the "Calling".

"CALLING"

Referencing a New Living Translation scripture from the Bible, it’s like this:

Mark 1:3 "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the LORD's coming! Clear the road for him!" 

Your gift is buried deep inside of you. It is obscured by the wilderness of your life's experiences. It is hidden behind failures, fears, regrets, disbelief, and feelings of not deserving more or better from life. If you listen carefully and open your heart, you will eventually hear your "TRUE" calling from your wilderness. It will start out faint, as it makes its way to the edge of your internal forest of experiences. It will formulate patterns identifying what fills you up with life and what sucks you dry of life. 

The voice will grow louder, as you feed your emerging "TRUE" affirming and solidifying the clear road for you to begin envisioning, planning, and setting out for a life uniquely designed for you.  It will call from books, magazines, movies, conversations, reflections, people, places, and anywhere "TRUE" can move closer and be heard by you. Something Henry David Thoreau once said about success, that applies to finding your "TRUE":

"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."

In 2005, I met my "TRUE" in a dream that birthed a book called "The Gift Table" Getting Your Giftedness in Gear. And, I have been following my "CALLING" for 8 years now. It is a journey being perfected that is perfect for me and most challenging when I attempt any departure from it. I have had my greatest joys finding and pursuing my "True Calling" and it has made me a better person for it. The journey is not easy, however, it far exceeds any existence without it because money, affection, independence, fill-in-blank, can fill this gift shaped hole in our lives. With God's help, I will continue my pursuit and it is my highest hope and prayer you find your "True Calling", too.   

Have a blessed day listening for your gift crying in the wilderness, so you too will meet with success in uncommon hours. 

If you’d like help finding your “True Calling”, just drop me an email and we’ll move forward with meeting your gift in uncommon hours, for unparalleled success in life and being a blessing to those around you.

John,

Copyrights 2013. Changing-Paths, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.changing-paths.com 

Self-Reflection and "The Gambler"

Hey Friends,

I've not posted anything for awhile, because I've been weighted down with so many other low value things in my life. Things I'm reflecting on, even now, and letting go for high value activities like exchanging ideas with you. My inspiration tonight comes from a song called "The Gambler" that goes like this, "You've got to:

1. Know when to hold'em,
2. Know when to fold'em,
3. Know when to walk away,
4. Know when to run."

The "knowing", in Kenny's song, transcends gambling for me and speaks to the importance of self-knowledge and me walking out life's journey. Here's where I am:

HOLD'EM: Life is called a journey, because it requires a traveler's mindset. This mindset is created over years of lugging overweight, out-sized, and paying costly stowage fees is making me a bit more discriminating about what I pack on my life's journey.So, today, I sat down with my life-luggage and realized there's some heavy stuff in there that needs unpacking, like: anger, fear, regret, pride, etc.  This self-knowledge is helping me revisit what I'm holding and whether or not it is helping or hindering my life's journey toward an abundant, fulfilling existence.

FOLD'EM:  As I unpacked my life-luggage, there's some stuff that I must let go - now. Easier said than done, I've actually got a lot of emotional, financial, or political investments in some of this heavy stuff, which I've yet reconciled fully. However, a recent reminder from a dear friend quickly urged me to just drop most of it , because it's just getting in the way of doing great things - if it's not positive, I can't use it on my journey toward my best life ever!

WALK AWAY: Like most company help-desk teams, my heavier life-luggage items will no longer be supported, because they suck up operating capacity and take up too much space.  Those heavier items will be automatically moved to the trash can in the future!

RUNNING: Now, some of the things I've unpacked and moved into the trash can may try reboot, so I've planned on replacing those items with lighter, more useful applications, like: abundant living, sharing with others, forgiveness, confidence, caring, love, and the list goes on. Finally, I will run as far away from the heavy trash items and avoid putting them into my life-luggage, in the future.

How about you? What do you see in Kenny's lyrics and how you will engage self-knowledge, while walking out your life's journey?

Love to hear from you.