Refresh
Whatever your role in life, who you become is ultimately up to you.
So, when things are not going in the direction you wish, it pays to reboot or refresh before events progress. You can always change or alter your course by listening to your heart. Nothing is finite. As long as you are in a state of acceptance and open to change, you will find your soul is an excellent navigator. Pause, then listen. Be available to what is next, even if it is a complete change in direction.
Where are you dedicating your energy?
Is it steering you towards or away from your dreams? Have your desires changed?
Attention is the natural prayer of the soul.
—Nicolas Malebranche
If a goal no longer excites you or ignites your passion, it is time to let it go. Then again, you may find that only a little tweaking—replacing a belief, modifying behavior, or revisiting the impact you wish to have—will suffice. Other times, a purging or dismantling will aid you in discovering any unconscious drives. Usually, you do not have to reinvent yourself.
It pays to remember that it does not matter how many times you fall, only how many times you get up.
It is our very search for perfection outside ourselves that causes our suffering.
— The Buddha
Your dreams, like yourself, are ever-unfolding. Just because you have had it for a while does not mean that you cannot reexamine it. Did your purpose or the circumstances change? Has your dream undergone a metamorphosis? Pause, listen, then refresh.
Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are.
— Chinese Proverb
As you do, make it a point to give yourself some tender loving care—find the balance between your personal and professional life. Tap into your natural state of happiness to live in harmony. Have fun! Be curiously open to everything that enters your life. Sometimes the most inconsequential circumstance is precisely the solution you sought. How will it advance you to the next step?
Rebooting is like a breath of fresh air, purifying everything in the process. Just like when your computer ceases to perform optimally, rebooting or refreshing clears whatever is causing sluggish performance. It clears your state of mind and any blocked energy, breathing new life into you and the project by helping you find small steps to take and finish so you can enjoy the feeling of success rather than being stuck in lack.
It is not the degree of ‘willing’ or ‘trying,’ but the way in which the energy is directed, that is going to make the ‘willing’ or ‘trying’ effective. —F.M. Alexander
Pausing and refreshing also allow you to be genuine, to align with your essence. It lets you be real. I recently heard a passage from the classic children’s story, The Velveteen Rabbit, about how the magical power of love turns stuffed animals real. Yet, it is about more than that—it is about how loving yourself and being open to love helps you to be genuine, aligning you with your essence. as you courageously express your message, your voice. “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you.”
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” ―Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit
Will you let yourself be authentic? Will you risk getting hurt to experience unconditional love, realizing others’ validation is insignificant as long as you own who you are?
Go for it; take the shot! Risk it all for love without fear of being hurt. There is nothing more satisfying. And, when things become somewhat askew, pause, refresh, and go inward, letting your soul lead.