Awareness: What is Your Truth?

*Note: In the Fearless Living Institute, each month is focused on a principle of living fearlessly. January's principle is Awareness. This article was written by Lori and featured in the Fearless Living weekly newsletter this week.

I have always had this belief in my soul that the "truth shall make you free". As a practitioner of Fearless Living, I see this statement through different lenses than I did as a youth. Because of this belief, I am a seeker of truth. Because of Fearless Living, I have learned to seek truth inside of myself as well as in the world.

As I become Aware of what is true in my life, in my heart, in my career, in my relationships, I gain more freedom. The freedom to choose, freedom to change, freedom to love, freedom to live more authentically.

Awareness is the first step to Fearless Living because it is the necessary moment we must come to if we want something to be different. I have had "aha" moments that scare me to death, bring me to tears, or make me want to jump for joy! I find them exciting now and know that behind that "aha" moment lies a path that can lead me to something more in my life.

What "aha" moments are you seeking for? What limiting belief would you need to give up in order to find the truth in that part of your life? What would you get if you stepped into truth?

I encourage you to take a moment to journal what thoughts and feelings come up for you as you ponder these questions. Make a list of the areas of your life that feel limited or stuck. Now, find the top 1 or 2 that if these could be different, everything would be different. What limiting beliefs do you have that might be lurking behind the stuck feelings? Once you know what these are, the steps to freedom are within your grasp!

Life of Possibility

This week, I was blessed to witness the birth of my third grandson. What a true miracle it is to see a soul take their first breath of life! Some of the words that went through my mind include: amazing, miraculous, precious, pure, innocence, deep love, cherished, awakening, awe- inspiring, admiration, and hope. I wondered what it must be like for that little infant to go from such a safe, secure environment and suddenly be thrust into a strange, new place, with light, sound, touch, taste, pain, love, and a myriad of other new experiences all within a moment of his first breath. What an amazing thing that human beings can adapt so readily to such an extreme change in our environment at such a tender young age! My little grandson has a whole world available to him to explore, learn, and grow from. Each moment of his life is an opportunity to explore all the possibilities that life has to offer. He lives in possibility everyday.

I don’t know about you, but I find that it is challenging to always live with an attitude of possibility everyday. What happens as we grow, is that life experiences teach us to close off to the new things that come our way and protect ourselves from hurt, pain, disappointment, failure etc. As a result, we sometimes miss the millions of possibilities that can be waiting for us just on the horizon. We often find ourselves feeling unsatisfied, or stuck in our circumstances whatever they be. We begin to see only what seems to be the impossible.

Do you find yourself like me, living in impossibility more often than you’d like? When life throws you a curve ball, do you see only the impossible task ahead rather than the new possibilities that may now be open to you?  How can you know if you are living in impossibility rather than possibility? If you find yourself using words like… too much, too busy, too sad, too tired, too anything. Or, I can’t because…, It won’t work because…, I could never do that because…., then you are focusing on what is impossible rather than looking for what is possible in that moment or in your life.

There is always a cost and a benefit to everything we choose. Ask yourself, “what is my attitude of impossibility costing me?” “What am I not seeing? What am I missing out on? “ What would be different if you chose to view the possibilities right now? What could happen for you?

If you are ready to become more aware of how impossibility and possibilities are showing up in your life and where you can choose to do something different, consider some of these action challenges that my good friend and mentor coach, Martha Pasternack, offered this week in the Fearless Living weekly tip.

"Take some centered time to be honest with yourself.

What are you naming as impossible? 
What are you calling impossible? 
Is that coming from your fear or your freedom? 
If it is fear, how can you respond with kindness, discernment and compassion? 
If from freedom, how can you act from an authentic and self accepting place?

Now do the same thing with asking yourself what you name as possible for you.
What is possible for you based on your core need, your essential nature, your wholeness? 
What are your dreams, goals and desires for yourself, your family, your business? 
Are you naming them possible or impossible? 
Stay with this for a few minutes and listen to your soul speak to you.

Sort out this awareness of what is possible and what is impossible. Where do YOU want to dwell?"