If you're reading this, there are probably some areas of your life that aren't looking so good. Maybe you're living in a rickety-ass apartment, eating dollar tacos by yourself every night, wondering when your life is going to start. Deep down, you know you're a total rock star, but you're consumed by low-level minutiae - parking tickets, wobbly relationships, a bank account that echoes. The most painful part is knowing you're capable of so much more. The good news is that all you need to do is make one simple shift: you need to go from *wanting* to change your life to *deciding* to change your life. Wanting can be done on the couch with a bong in your hand. Deciding means jumping in all the way, doing whatever it takes, and going after your dreams with the tenacity of a dateless cheerleader a week before prom.
It's not your fault that you're fucked up. It's your fault if you *stay* fucked up. When you came screaming onto this planet, you were a wide-eyed creature living entirely in the moment. But from the second you could take it in, the world started filling you with a lifetime of beliefs, many of which have nothing to do with who you actually are. Our subconscious minds, fully formed at birth, believe everything they're told. If your parents grumbled that money doesn't grow on trees, your subconscious took that as gospel. Your conscious mind, the overachiever that showed up around puberty, thinks it's in control, but it isn't. The blueprint for your life is running on old, unfiltered information. This is why you stumble, mystified, trying to create an excellent life while subconsciously believing you don't deserve it or that it will only cause you pain.
To change your reality, you have to connect to a power that's bigger than your own limiting beliefs. Call it whatever you want - The Universe, Source Energy, The Motherlode - it doesn't matter. What matters is that you develop a relationship with the limitless energy that surrounds you and is within you. The Universe is made of energy that vibrates at a certain frequency, and so are you. Vibration attracts like vibration. If you're vibrating at a low frequency - feeling pessimistic, needy, or convinced you're ugly - you can't expect high-frequency, awesome things to come your way. You have to raise your frequency to match the vibration of what you want to tune into. Your faith must be greater than your fear.
This journey requires you to wake up from what can only be called The Big Snooze - the shadow self, the ego, the part of you that's acting like a weenie. The Big Snooze operates on your limiting beliefs and is fiercely committed to keeping you safely confined in your comfort zone. When you decide to make massive changes, to blast out and follow your heart, The Big Snooze will pitch a fit. It will claw, scratch, and hurl its body in front of your new life. When you take great leaps forward, life often turns to shit before it turns to Shinola. Your car will break down, your computer will crash, your roof will cave in. This isn't a sign you should give up; it's a sign your Big Snooze is in a full-blown panic because you're about to obliterate the very identity you've always known.
The foundation for all of this is self-love. We arrive here as perfect little bundles of joy and then set about the task of learning to un-love ourselves. It's unbelievably ridiculous. Loving yourself isn't about conceit; it's a deep connection to your highest self and an unshakable ability to forgive your lowest. Drown yourself in affirmations: *I am brilliant, bright, and beautiful.* Appreciate how special you are, because you are the only you there will ever be. Do not deny the world its one and only chance to bask in your brilliance. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Dragging around guilt is pointless and boring. You aren't a better person for feeling bad about yourself, just a sadder one.
Once you're rooted in self-love, you can stop giving a single crap about what anybody else thinks of you. What other people think has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Their reality is not your business. This frees you to find your purpose - the unique gift you were brought here to share. Most people wander through life giving the tasteful candle version of their gifts, never truly going for it. But when you find your calling and design a life where you can share it, that's when the real party begins. Follow your fantasies. They are the most revealing peepholes into who you are and what you think is awesome. Our fantasies are our realities in an excuse-free world.
To tap into this power, you must learn to quiet your mind. Meditation is the practice of shutting up so you can hear your inner guidance. It connects you to the present moment, raises your frequency, and opens you to unlimited information. Your thoughts are the most powerful tools you've got, and you must learn to command them. Your brain is your bitch. You have to change your thinking first, and then the evidence appears. Believe in the not-yet-seen. Be grateful for everything you have and everything that's on its way. When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. And forgive. Holding on to resentment is like taking poison and waiting for your enemies to die. Forgiveness isn't about letting them off the hook; it's about letting yourself off the hook.
Getting over your B.S. means getting over procrastination, perfectionism, and the drama of overwhelm. Done is better than perfect. Momentum is a wonderful thing, so get off your ass and get started. Fear is for suckers. It lives in the future, in a reality that hasn't happened yet and probably never will. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. On the other side of your fear is your freedom. The people who irritate you most are mirrors, reflecting back the parts of yourself you refuse to see. Use them as opportunities for growth, not pain. Own your ugly, question it, and then let it go.
The final step is the almighty decision. When you make a no-nonsense decision, you sign up fully and keep moving toward your goal, regardless of what's flung in your path. This is especially true with money. You must heal your relationship with it, seeing it as a currency of energy that you deserve. When you up-level your idea of what's possible, you open yourself up to the means to accomplish it. Take hell-bent-for-glory action, and then surrender. Let go of your kung fu grip and trust that The Universe will deliver. You are powerful. You are loved. You are surrounded by miracles. Believe it. You are a badass.
