Courage To Live A Life You Love

It often strikes me how much courage it requires to follow your intuition. How often have you come up with a wonderful insight, a creative idea or an “outside of the box” plan for success only to have it shot down by naysayers? “You can’t do that.” “It won’t work.” “No one has ever done it that way before.” These are only a few of the remarks I’ve heard. The worst part is when the comments originate in your own mind! It’s a part of you experiencing a fear of change, arguing against taking a risk.

Intuition is always encouraging you to open up, try something new and be the best you can be. It consistently points the way to success. We all want a sure thing, a guarantee that the risk we take will work out okay. But life isn’t like that. It requires that you develop faith and courage so you can grow big enough emotionally and spiritually, to live your dreams. It’s not always easy. As Rick Beneteau says in the quote above, “You'll never stand on the mountaintop unless you've stood in the valley.”

Here are five ways to help you build your courage.

1. Challenge Your Fears One at a Time — Most of us get scared because we’re overwhelmed by the enormity of the task ahead of us. It’s helpful to think of it like a term paper you had to do when you were in school. How can you break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces? Make a to-do list of items that need to be accomplished. You’ll feel better as you cross things off that list and see steady advancement toward your goal.

2. Keep Your Sense of Humor — What’s the worst thing that can happen? Write it out and then make it even worse so it becomes an exercise in the ridiculous. I have a colleague who calls the part of her that is always worrying, “Fearful Freda.” She says it helps to think of Freda as a friend who just needs a little compassion and encouragement.

3. What’s the Best That Could Happen? — You’ve dealt with the worst that can happen. Now, what’s the best? Use the power of your emotions and your ability to visualize to create a best-case scenario. What picture comes to your mind when you imagine achieving your goal? While focusing on that, add color, texture, sounds and smells to your image. Amplify the positive emotions you feel. In your mind’s eye see and feel encouraging friends around you congratulating you on your success.

4. Manage Your Self-Talk — Try an experiment. Bring to mind a stressful event in your life. Now close your eyes and say the words "I'm so overwhelmed! What can I do?!" several times and with intense feeling. With the same event in mind, say the words, "I'm open to new possibilities." Or "I know I'll be shown the best way out of this situation." How do you feel? Do you notice that the first sentence makes you feel shut down and anxious? The second and third statements probably made you feel open, hopeful and produced an expectation of positive change. Everyone talks to themselves. If your inner dialogue is making you feel bad, change it.

5. Trust Your Intuition — There’ a part of you connected to Divine Wisdom, All-That-Is (or whatever you call God), that wants you to succeed. By meditating, sitting quietly or going for a calming walk, you can more easily access this Inner Wisdom. Ask your intuition open-ended questions. “What’s the best way to heal this relationship?” “What could I do for work that would be fun and profitable?” Listen for the answers. They’ll come through feelings, words, physical sensations, symbols, dreams or just a simple knowing. As you begin to listen to your intuition and follow its wisdom, you’ll find that all the courage you need is inside you. You just have to ask.

Lynn A. Robinson, M.Ed., is one of the nation's leading experts on the topic of intuition. Through her work as an intuitive she's helped thousands of people discover their life passion and achieve their goals. She's a bestselling author whose latest book is LISTEN: Trusting Your Inner Voice in Times of Crisis. Her other books include Divine Intuition and Trust Your Gut. Her free Intuition Newsletter is available at http://www.LynnRobinson.com. She may be reached at 800-925-4002 or at Lynn@LynnRobinson.com.