Leap Before You Look!

If you’re like most people, you’ve thought about making changes a lot more often than you’ve actually made them – even though going through with the change in question would undoubtedly make you happier, calmer or more satisfied overall. So what is it that stops us from taking that leap into uncharted territory at home, at work or anywhere else? It’s fear of course – and it’s a natural reaction when facing the unfamiliar.

But you don’t have to let fear rule your life. How do you beat fear, you ask? Sometimes, you’ve got to leap before you look!

Sounds crazy, I know. But it’s not. If we all gave into our fears, nothing would ever get done. Think about it! No one would get married, quit their jobs, try something new or have children. No matter how frightening, we have to be willing to risk failure in order to accomplish our goals. And considering the possibility of making your dreams come true, it’s a small price to pay, don’t you think?

The thing is, uncharted territory is uncharted territory no matter how big or how small the risk you need to take, and the one thing that is required in order to take any kind of leap of faith is exactly that: faith! You have to trust that the universe will support you.

Make room for change
So how do you start doing just that? How do you achieve the life you’ve been dreaming about? It all comes down to one simple principle: You have to make room for the things you want.

The Tao Te Ching says “empty and be full,” and that’s the same idea. If you’re daydreaming about what it would be like if only that cute person from accounting would ask you out but you stay in a relationship that doesn’t make you happy, you’re not telling the universe you trust it. In fact, you’re doing the exact opposite! You fear that life has let you down and that’s all it ever will do. Think that’s not what you’re doing? Consider this.

Have you ever thought (or even uttered) any of these phrases:
I just don’t meet the right kind of dates.
I’m a jerk magnet.
I’m stuck in this job.
I used to want to be a (insert your dream job here), but reality set in…

Send out positive messages
If so, you’re not alone – that’s fear talking. But by listening to these thoughts – and worse, by acting on them – we set ourselves up for failure. You can’t send the wrong message to the universe then blame it for everything that’s wrong! The universe doesn’t move mountains. It guides success to those who pave the way.

You’ve got to be willing to go after what you want in order to get it! And in your head (and in your heart) you’ve got to live life like you’ve already got it.

Easier said than done. And this may mean that you’ve got to look fear (or reality, as Garrison Keillor once said) in the face and say “NO!” But if you put the right energy out there – with affirmations or prayers , by speaking to friends and treating yourself right (both in what you actually do and what you accept as treatment from others), you’ll find yourself on the road to abundance in life, in love and in spirit.