COURAGE: FOLLOWING YOUR HEART

“Follow your heart” is a simple phrase with a lot of significance. The phrase is simple, but the action required to live it takes courage. It is scary to step out of your comfort zone, risking what you have for a new version of our life. But what will the rest of your life look like if you choose to settle where you are comfortable? Is there passion in comfort? Joy? Self-actualization? Are you willing to live without those things? I’m not.

I made a choice to follow my heart over a long period. I saw people around me, who appeared to be happy but were just comfortable. I didn’t see passion or joy, and certainly no self-actualization. So, I changed the course of my life and stepped out in courage to follow my heart.

Before I encourage you to follow your heart, I want to share the reality of making that decision.

YOU WILL PROBABLY GET IT WRONG BEFORE YOU GET IT RIGHT

Sometimes things feel right because we rationalize our way into believing they are right. Been there, done that. But that’s okay because it taught me how to sort out my intuition from rationalization.

You shouldn’t expect that you are going to make the right decision all of the time. You should expect to make mistakes and failures, lessons—progress, not perfection. Setbacks are not reasons to quit.

THERE IS LOSS WITH GAIN

Stepping out of your comfort zone comes with loss. But it also comes with an incredible gain. You should be prepared to lose some things that are currently important to you. There might be significant changes to your social circle. If you live in your comfort zone, chances are, so do the people around you.

You might take a financial hit. You might take a dip in your career. There might be other losses that you can’t predict. But none of the losses should stop you. Instead, they should fuel your determination to push through. Courage is essential to keep going when you start to feel the reality of loss without the joy of gain.

NO ONE CAN DO IT FOR YOU

Following your heart is something only you can do. There are people you can turn to for inspiration and guidance. But only you can decide who you want to be and where you want to go. This decision can be scary if you are used to living life according to what others expect of you. It takes courage to choose a new journey. But you shouldn’t let fear become your excuse not to step out.

YOUR HEART MIGHT CHANGE ALONG THE WAY

As you follow your heart, you will grow into a different version of yourself. Things that are important to you now might not be as crucial in a year; this is a good thing. The more you grow in courage, the closer you get to living your best life. The more you follow your heart, the more tuned in you become to your dreams. Following your heart is a process. It is an evolving way of life, not a single decision.

HAVE COURAGE AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART

If anyone tells you following your heart is easy, they either haven’t ever done it or are just saying a phrase that sounds good at the moment. Courage is a muscle that needs exercising. You can make courage one of your best assets by committing to following your heart.

OUR GIFT TO YOU

We have an awesome 30 Days of Affirmations for Building Courage freebie available. If you are new to using affirmations, don’t worry, we include everything you need to know to get started. Use the sign up below to receive this freebie as well as all others we have to offer.