“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Most of us just let life happen to us.

We move through our days automatically, without periodically stopping, looking around and asking—”How did I get here?”  and “Is this where I want to be?”

We hear this everyday, from our soul sisters, community members and people behind us in the grocery line. This has become a very common expression: “How did I get here?”

Take a breath. Slow down and ask yourself what you want. Ask what you want to see more of in your life. Ask what you want to feel more of. Ask what you need.

Check in with yourself.

It takes courage to ask yourself what you want instead of just letting life happen to you. Change happens by taking small, steady movements in the direction of what we want. But if we are not aware of what we want, we may not be moving in a direction that feeds us. The beginning of courage is choosing to really look at our current life, and starting to actively choose what we need.

Change takes courage.

How do we know what we need? Where do we start? We start with what sparks us, what makes our heart swell so fully it wants to burst open with love? What makes us smile so fully that for just a moment we forget our problems? What makes us perk up, and listen? It could be anything really. Our different passions, our different reasons for living, that’s what makes this world go round, that’s what makes us learn from each other.

We have to be where we are at, yes—but breathe into where we want to go. We have to breathe into our dreams and our visions.

Growth is a cyclical process. Some days it all moves very quickly—very smoothly. And some days it seems to move backwards. But there is always growth. You are always growing.

Yes, it’s important to be happy where you are, but it’s also important to know where you’re going. To be in tune with your feelings and not only know what you want but know how you want to feel along the way.

Our no’s make space for all those things we want to say “yes” to. Say yes to those heart-swelling moments and “no” to anything that makes your heart feel closed off. Live your yes’s and step away from your no’s. It’s ok, give yourself unapologetic permission to actively choose for yourself. Permission to actively choose your life.

Living fully is about choosing and not just letting life happen to you. The courage to be an active participant in your life and to be authentically you. To discover what pieces light you up. What pieces close you down. To say more yes’s and no’s and less maybe’s. To make choices that support who you want to be.

Create your vision, choose your theme song, don’t doubt yourself and create the life that feels like the one you were meant to live.

~

Author: Kara Powers & Marisa Tingle

Editor: Caitlin Oriel

Image: Unsplash/Utomo Hendra Saputra