I have a quote on the home page of my website that says, “Your soul is longing to live out the calling God has placed on your heart. Reconnect with your dreams, those things you love, and…Live your More!”
You see, I believe with all my heart that God places the desires we have on our hearts for a reason. He wants us to live out those dreams and desires so that we can be happy and enjoy the lives He created us to live. Does that mean that every day will be rainbows and laughter?
No, we will still have heartbreak and sorrows. We will still have sickness, broken relationships, and disappointments. Things won’t always go the way we want them to and people won’t always respond the way we think they should.
But when we are living our More, life has more joy and more meaning and it is easier to bear those less than ideal situations that will always be a part of our day. Once we understand the difference between what we can control and what we can’t, we can relax into each day with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Even when it doesn’t look like we thought it would, we can find the good and embrace each experience with a sense of calm and peace.
Even when your schedule is insane.
Even when the car breaks down, again.
Or when your spouse doesn’t help the way you think they should.
Or the kids are sick and you can’t miss another day of work.
The ability to focus on the things that really matter is a gift that will allow you to completely change the way you do life.
Trust me, I know it’s easy to get caught up in the things we need to do or the tasks we should do day in and day out. And pretty soon, we turn around and realize we’ve lived a life that doesn’t include the things we love or we’ve missed opportunities to be with people we care for in a meaningful way.
Let me give you an example. My mother is an incredible woman. She has always been able to do whatever she sets her mind to do. In addition to being a truly beautiful caring person, she’s an awesome cook, she keeps a beautifully decorated home, she has a massive garden, she can sew, and she’s a very talented painter.
At some point after us kids were gone she took up painting. She painted some stunning still life and landscapes years ago, but somewhere along the way her painting fell by the wayside. Life got busy and there was always a reason not to paint. Every time I would suggest she take it up she was always too busy or the timing wasn’t right somehow.
I’m thrilled because recently she’s decided to take it up again. We were visiting about it the other day and I could feel the excitement build in her as she was talking about starting to enjoy this love of hers again. She literally came to life before my eyes. Then she shared with me the words that broke my heart. She said, “I feel like I’ve wasted my life.”
I was stunned. Here was one of the people I admire most in the world telling me she’s wasted her life.
Although I know that for anyone looking at her life, there is no way to see how her life has been wasted. But it makes me sad to see that she’s now realizing that, despite doing a lot of great things and having a very enjoyable life, she could have experienced so much more joy had she made the time to do this one thing she’s always loved to do. At the same time, I’m thrilled that she’s finally prioritizing this thing she’s always longed for and I am so proud of her for not being afraid to go after her dream at this stage in her life.
And to me, that is what this podcast is all about. I love sharing the message about Longing for More and giving you, my listeners, glimpses of what More looks like for others and showing how they’ve found their more and then gone after it. But I know that there can be a huge gap between acknowledging we long for more to knowing what that more is because it is different for everyone. In my coaching, I help people to connect with the things that matter to them so they can live their more.
It might involve helping them to slow down and simply be present in the lives of their loved ones. Or it might be finding a way to forgive themselves or others for falling short of their expectations. I could also be helping a client have the courage to go after a job or career change they want but don’t know what steps to take. Just like every person is a unique individual with distinct likes and dislikes, their purpose and desires are also unique.
Sadly, some of us have buried our hopes and dreams so deeply within us that we don’t even recognize them anymore when they present themselves to us. Even when we do recognize them, so many of us have been convinced that we don’t deserve to have more. Or we feel we need to earn the right to live out our desires so we stopped dreaming. Truly, we’ve stopped giving ourselves permission to be who we are.
On more than one occasion I’ve had a conversation with a young person who could not tell me what their life would look like if I could wave a magic wand and create the life of their dreams.
As I ponder both ends of the spectrum, I’m not sure which makes me sadder. To think someone living in the last years of their life can look back and feel they’ve wasted their life or to think someone in the early years of their life can’t imagine a life they would truly love.
Fortunately, it’s not too late for either. Both can make the choice right now to imagine their best life and begin to take steps to live that life. But knowing we can do it and doing it are two different things. The beliefs we create about ourselves and the world around us hold us back and that makes it extremely difficult to take the actions needed to step into our More.
When we can create that shift in our thinking and give ourselves permission to trust God and courageously go after the dreams He’s laid on our hearts, everything changes. It truly is less about what we are doing and more about who we are being. Once we let go of the things of this world that weigh us down and hold us back, we can truly begin to live the life our soul is longing for!
As I mentioned earlier, everyone’s More is different. That is why it is important to have your own personal experience of connecting with your More. There are many paths to your more. You can continue this journey on your own as I had for many decades. I’m grateful for the coaches in my life that have led me to my More and shudder to think where I’d be if I hadn’t had the courage to take the first step on this path.
If you’ve been curious about coaching but aren’t certain if it is for you, I would love it if you could join me at my upcoming Connecting with Your More retreat to be held on the morning of November 16.
At this retreat, we will spend three hours with other women of faith in a beautiful setting focusing on You and how your life is impacted by your thoughts and everyday choices. You will walk away empowered to make decisions that are fully in alignment with your values allowing yourself to live a life that matters. You will learn to trust God more and develop a deeper faith. It is a rare opportunity to unplug from the world, invest in You and what your soul is longing for, and begin to see how living your more can change everything. Once you understand how your current ways of viewing life may not be serving you, your life will never be the same.
So what about you? Can you imagine what your dream life looks like?
Are you taking steps to get that life?
Or, like so many people I know, have you tried so many times and didn’t make it that you’ve quit trying?
Let me ask you this. Did you truly do it your way, or were you trying someone else’s method and it never fit quite right. Or, if you are being honest, you didn’t really try at all because you might have been a little afraid you might succeed?
What if I told you you’ve probably been coming at it from the wrong perspective before? Would you believe me if I said that it’s actually much easier than you’ve ever dreamed it could be?
My Connecting with Your More retreat is the perfect opportunity to dip your toe into the water and test to see trying an entirely new approach is the answer. With a very small investment, you can experience coaching, fellowship with other women of faith, and the chance to see how life can be entirely different than anything you’ve ever experienced before.
Think of it as a gift to yourself and those in your life. Wouldn’t everyone benefit from the calm, relaxed, and peaceful version of you? How much would it be worth to actually enjoy the holidays with very little stress and then enter into the new year already well on your way to meeting your goals?
No resolutions.
No recriminations for dining it “wrong.”
No judgement for having that glass of eggnog, or that piece of fudge.
Just the version of you that is happy and grateful for all she has and the chance to start over again with all the things that really matter prioritized in your life.
Thank you for stopping by today. I know your time is valuable and there are so many choices out there for you to do with your time. It means so much that you are here.
Go, be blessed and Live your More!
