What Makes You Come Alive?

I read this quote by Howard Thurman the other day that said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

For many of my adult years I focused more on what other people thought I should do with my life and what would make me look successful to them. 

It caused a great deal of stress in my life. It made me unhappy, stressed and eventually sick. 

It took me many years to realize that I am going to spend most of my life working; shouldn’t I enjoy what I do everyday? Shouldn’t it help me to feel more alive rather than less alive?

These thoughts, while definitely part of the reason for the change, were not the driving force. It was actually the physical reaction to stress and the illnesses that followed that were the catalyst for change. 

I owned two restaurants. How could I possibly walk away from them? The fear was often crippling. All the reasons why I couldn’t or shouldn’t kept me up at night.

Eventually, couldn’t and shouldn’t just weren’t enough anymore. There was something deep inside of me that kept telling me that this way of life was over. 

Life will always present opportunities for you, you just have to be open to receiving them. When the opportunity presented itself, I was paying attention. I took a deep breath, faced my fears, and made a huge change. I went from owning two restaurants to becoming a full time yoga teacher. It was a complete 360 and also completely worth it. 

I know not everyone has the privilege of following their passion. I am fully grateful that life has supported me in this way. But if you have the opportunity to do what makes you come alive then don’t hold back. Open that door, step inside and don’t look back.