50 Ways to Yay! 1. LET’S CHANGE THE WORLD, SHALL WE?


The great poet Rumi has given us these wise words: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” When we change, the world around us changes. When we work on being the most amazing version of ourselves, on transforming our hearts and our minds, we can let that goodness ripple out and affect the world. We all have the power to change and transform ourselves, and when we realize this truth, we can bring forth that power into every circumstance we encounter.

Many of us are anxious to improve our circumstances, but we’re reluctant to improve ourselves; we want the incredible life, but we don’t want to do the work. We can’t change the world until we’re willing to change ourselves, because ultimately our view of the world is a direct reflection of how we’re personally showing up in it. In any situation where we feel something is lacking, it’s usually something within ourselves that is missing from the equation. Sure, it’s easy to look at the world around us and blame it for all of our misfortunes, but placing the blame outside ourselves doesn’t bring us any closer to actually solving the problem.

Whether we’re feeling a lack of love, of financial security, of intimacy, or of peace in our lives, the solution can usually be found within ourselves. If we dig deep enough, get brutally honest, and take responsibility for how WE’RE showing up under those circumstances, we can see that external things are not to blame; instead, it is what we’re not willing to GIVE to the situation.

I used to feel a lack of intimacy in my relationships. I felt as though my partner and friends weren’t opening up fully or sharing their true feelings. It wasn’t until I realized that I wasn’t showing up fully open, vulnerable, and willing to share that I could understand that I was the missing ingredient. When I began to shift, my reality shifted with me. I dropped my walls and began to show up as ALL of me, and people who weren’t meant for my life gradually fell out of it, while I formed deeper relationships with those who stayed. My relationships expanded exponentially the more I revealed who I truly was, and suddenly that lack of intimacy I had once felt became a distant memory.

If we want to experience more love, we have to choose to be love. If we want to experience more abundance, we have to be the embodiment of that abundance. If we want to experience peace, we have to practice it first. We don’t get what we want, we get what we ARE. So whatever it is that you feel you’re lacking in life, get brutally honest with yourself and ask how you are showing up to it. We will receive and attract into our lives only what we are willing to BE, and what we feel we’re missing is a direct indicator of where we’re not giving enough of ourselves.

YOUR MISSION: In what area of your life do you most dislike the results you’re getting? (Relationships, career/purpose, money, health, spirituality, lifestyle, etc.)

Who or what do you need to become in order to get the results you desire in this area?

REFLECTION: How does it feel knowing that you are 100 percent responsible for your experience of life? Do you feel more empowered and confident in the face of the inevitable adversity that will show up?