Today I’m feeling really enthusiastic about something I want to tell you! It’s something I’ve held back on a bit, because I’ve been worried that not enough of you will believe me. But here goes…… it really is possible to live a dream life despite chronic illness, in fact it’s a really important aim because it’s probably the best thing that you could ever do for your health!
The first step: Believe!
I guess I come from a culture that says dreams are just dreams, if you try hard you can get somewhere but you have to be realistic about your expectations. It took some work to break out of this mindset, but what really did it was realising how much control you can have over your life if you’re prepared to take responsibility for all your decisions and line them up with what you truly need! When your dream fits with exactly who you are, instead of being influenced by societies measures and expectations, going after it is really all about meeting your needs. It’s about doing what’s right for you…. and doing what’s right for you brings ease and better health!
In fact, once you find the dream that is right for you; a dream that’s all about being able to express yourself and be in an environment that truly makes you happy, you’ll have found the answer to how you can live life in a very energy efficient manner! When we’re being true to our inner nature, things are easy; they flow; there is no resistance that uses our energy wastefully. When we are truly at peace our healing mode is switched on. When we are truly happy we feel energised! So I guess my definition of a dream life is one in which you can truly express yourself, be at peace and be happy!
The second step: Be open to exploring all aspects of you!
Before chronic illness (BCI) I always saw myself primarily as an active and adventurous person. Actually I am so much more than that, it’s just those two features of my personality provided me with many highlights and I tended to rely on them quite strongly. Because I’ve had to slow down and can no longer rely on those parts of myself to keep me happy now, I’ve had the opportunity to discover many other aspects of naturally being me and have been able to develop certain traits and talents that were unexplored in m BCI life. I’ve also learned many new ways of being happy that don’t rely on highlights and striving.
Finding a dream life despite chronic illness is all about exploring all aspects of you. There will be ways you can express yourself within the current confines of chronic illness, that will bring you great rewards, if you can open yourself up to them. Find the ways of making yourself tick that you can do now! Once you start to really listen to your needs, you’ll discover a dream that is not only attainable, but will lead you down the road to better health.
The next step: Allow your dream to motivate you!
Once you have a dream and you believe that it’s attainable, you have motivation! Motivation to really listen to your body and take care of it, because looking after yourself is the only way you’ll get to your dream. With enough motivation, all we really need to do is keep asking ourselves ‘what does my body/ mind/spirit wholeness really need in this moment?’ Once you get good at listening and taking responsibility for meeting those needs, the next step that you’ll need to take towards living your dream is likely to present itself to you. (see also a vision that safely inspires)
A big part of my dream life is helping others with energy living chronic illness find the way to living theirs! It’s something that lights me up! I have a great many tools to teach that can help people discover themselves, discover their dreams, listen carefully to the messages of their wholeness and use their energy wisely without waste, and I love teaching them. I’ve just finished my first group coaching program and it’s so wonderfully rewarding to see how much more in control and how much happier the participants are at the end of the program. So I’ll definitely be doing more! But I also love writing and knowing that I’m reaching many more people, and that my words might be making a difference in ways that I may never even hear about.
So please let me know if you are struggling at any stage of your journey towards living your dreams. What are your ‘yeah but’s? What makes you think you can’t live a dream? I’ll do my best to help you overcome those obstacles with answers in my blog! Who knows by asking the question you might just be helping others with similar challenges take a step forward too!
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Another great article, Julie – very inspiring! As one of the course participants, I am living proof of the positive changes that you are enabling people living with chronic illness to achieve – thankyou.