Go inward my meditation guide said. Go inward. It seems lately that going inward is what I have been doing a lot lately. I spend a lot of time in my own head. As a huge proponent of daily journaling, I find that there is a lot to be learned in those pages.

I write a lot, and I mean a lot. My journals are filled with so many things. The past six months of these pages are filled with a lot of self doubt and fear, and facing down these beasts of great magnitude takes a lot of ink and paper. At least for me.

Going inward to really uncover the underlying reasons for what holds me back has proven to be eye opening. What is more interesting than just the thoughts, is the pattern of thoughts. Each time I open my journal, I made a quick note at the top of what day and time it is. Apparently, mornings are the toughest. Even with 5 am starts, a serious amount of coffee, supplements, dog walks and gym time, I am at my most introspective (and very judgmental) around 8 am. I am the most grounded with a fabulous mindset around noon. - why the change?

I start talking to people around 10.

Our thoughts become our reality in isolation. Fear sounds like facts and doubts become truth.

I believe that what we are all looking for is our purpose. And when we think that we have our sights on it, we then get really quiet. We are afraid. We become afraid of telling people about our dreams and goals, because of the well meaning (hopefully) friends that may think we are crazy to think we could ever achieve it. (That’s risky, you might fail, don’t do something that people will criticize you for - all FEAR) So we remain quiet.
We are afraid to write down our dreams and goals because WE don’t believe we can achieve them. We tell ourselves that we are crazy to think we could ever achieve it. And there it remains. In our head. In silence. And then we find every reason to not go chase it down. It’s not safe out there in the big world. (No it’s not) We will be judged. We will be bullied, and we will be told we aren’t good enough. (Spend 5 minutes on Facebook and read people’s comments on the most random stupid thing you can find - there’s some proof). But our minds, and social media, become an echo chamber - or hurt locker. And it feeds that beast of fear and makes it that much stronger.

However, transformation thrives in community. And there are a lot - I mean a lot - of other people doing really amazing things with their lives, because they choose to get out of their heads, get off of socials and go do it ANYWAY. They walked out of their own hurt locker and found the people that want to be a part of the journey with them.
Like attracts like. Ideas spawn ideas. And positive energy (negative too) is contagious.

First stop on the dream train - write it down. Second stop - tell somebody you trust. You can even say, I don’t want your opinion, I just want to tell you. It then starts to become more real. Third stop, start writing down how it would feel to be there. Live in your future self for a while. Think about how it would transform your life.

Then, once you start living it in full color, take that and start. Just start.

You will trip, you will run into critics (and boy, will they be loud) and you will argue with yourself for days. But go back to where you wrote it down, and start with those steps again - play it big - for you.
We are the only creatures on the earth who can actually visualize a different reality than where we are. Use that. Live that.

I am challenging you to step out of your own silence and start your dream, seek out others who have done the same thing. Build your own community. If something needs a change, then change it. Because you can. And you don’t have to go it alone.