Stop Procrastinating and Start Living Your Dreams Right Now
GUEST BLOG - Contributed by Jennifer Zenz-Olson,
I was floating in a hydrotherapy pool in Mexico when a thought struck me. The cool, clear and beautiful water I was floating in was a beautiful example of TRUST.
Before we know how our bodies work in the buoyancy of water, our inclination is to flail, to fight and panic if we can’t touch the bottom of a body of water. But, the magic is in the laying back and allowing our bodies to float. We don’t NEED to fight harder to be safe, we need to trust.
Imagine then, that you are symbolic of the dream you have for your life or your business. That there is a power in trusting that dream without feeling like we have to work so hard to experience it or have ALL the answers. The power is in letting go of resistance. To learn that when you let go, your dream is buoyant in the waters of life.
A powerful notion for pursuing our dreams is trusting the vision we have for it and knowing we are innately created to float on the waves of pursuing that dream.
Visions are the dreams of our hearts and I incessantly tell my clients that nothing is an accident. Each of us has a unique energetic signature that we take out into the world.
That signature is composed of the gifts, talents, visions and the energy that makes you who you are! No two people in the world are alike.
My dream was to help women realize this, but it wasn’t always so.
At 40, I was in a successful private psychotherapy practice I had created and found I dreaded going to work every day. It was such a devastating response to a “dream” I had. I had a powerful vision for a psychotherapy practice that was steeped in integrity, joy and connection. And for a long time, it was EXACTLY as I envisioned.
Until it wasn’t.
The difficult part of this story, and so many stories of the women I work with, is that we followed a dream, and we didn’t anticipate it shifting.
This was fraught with anxiety, fear and a sense of being unmoored. I asked big questions, like “what will people think?”, “Am I crazy?”, “This is working so what is WRONG with me?”. But the other question that spurred this new direction was, “Is this all there is?” And I KNEW that the answer was no. So the transformation began.
I knew that I had achieved one big dream of mine and what I was sensing was the niggle to begin again. That sense of needing to create something new with this more evolved form of my soul and purpose.
I determined that it was time to make a “lane change” and move into another space that was a reflection of the woman I had to transition away from the woman that WAS into the woman that IS (Like Jen 1.0 needed to move over so Jen 2.0 could do her thang!).
I talked to friends, I sought support and went to energy work. All in an effort to answer these questions. But, the question I should have asked was, “Why do you want to pursue your dreams?”. I mean, I had already achieved mine, hadn’t I?
What I missed was the wisdom that in our evolution, our values, goals and purpose changes so that we too need to shift. Transformation is one of the most powerful experiences we have as human beings. We are made to create and make use of our gifts in this lifetime and even I had lost sight of the fact that my dream might look different!
Even in using our gifts and talents, the trick of our dreams is allowing ourselves to realign over time, to “change lanes” and move into the next layer of our growth. To expand and to continue reaching for the next dream.
The reality was that I had evolved as a human being and so my delivery of my purpose and dreams was going to look and feel different!
I was different.
This new dream needed to be a reflection of the wisdom cultivated by providing over 20 years of psychotherapy and then risking it all to grow myself and my business in another “lane”.
I began the journey of developing the wellness components of my work and how I wanted to use a “layered” approach to the services I was offering and not just offer the traditional psychotherapy service anymore. The old way of offering my services had zapped my creative potential and I was seriously lacking inspiration!
The time had come to move beyond what was “expected” of me, of what I had “always” done and to move into creating my own space, my own way of showing up in the business world even if there wasn’t a space for it yet. I created my own wave.
Creating your own wave is a powerful tool in creating your dreams. Releasing the ideas of what IS over to what CAN BE is a monumental game-changer and mindset-shifter!
As we begin the journey of stepping into our next dream we can harness the wisdom, energy and insight to press into the next stage of our lives, businesses and purpose! There can be a sense of being “called” to step into a new space, a new dream and a transformed aspect of us to “level up”!
While this experience can be intimidating, it is also LIBERATING.
I am all about that! In mid-life I have stopped worrying about what others think. I have stopped trying to please others and have realized that I am most myself and standing in my power when I listen to the call for where I am needed in the present moment.
Our job is to take our talents, gifts, purpose and POUR it into the world. Martha Graham said, “…because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open…You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you.”
Your urges, your motivations and dreams are a unique signature of you alone and so only YOU have the capacity to bring that dream to life! As Martha said, it is not our business to have the answers, but to follow the directive we receive.
I am so inspired by the powerful women I see creating change in the world. The way she stands tall, shares her message, her power and purpose to create impact in a way that only SHE can. She is creating her own wave to fulfill her dreams. The women that are empowered KNOW on a soul level they have something to do…even if no one else understands that. The dreamer is trusting herself and that innate wisdom with a single-minded focus and drive that cuts through the BS of life.
It took me until the age of 40 to really begin to respect and honor my own strengths, to release the layers of conditioning, teachings, stories that told me “how to be” in this life.
Sure, I was more likable to some, but at the end of the day, I didn’t like or respect myself.
When I stopped listening to the messages of the “wishes of the world", other people and my own interpretations, I was FREE again. I could finally BREATHE. I began to reinvent myself. First, by going to training to be a yoga instructor and meditation teacher. Then by following the next things that showed up; the next right steps, which looked like Reiki.
Master training, Emotion Code certification and so on. I began to see that these other services were a powerful tool for transformation and wanted to share that with the world.
After developing my own meditation practice I just knew that everyone needed meditation To understand how to slow down and be with the breath. In my high-energy state, I was learning these valuable tools that allowed me to feel more deeply aligned with my dreams, to clearly receive wisdom about what that next right action was.
I felt as though I was slowly waking up again to my own life…to the passion I had for sharing my purpose, my energy with the world once again. Like a bear waking in the spring from a deep slumber. My soul had found its way back to myself and the dream had changed.
I invite you to pause, to breathe, to LISTEN. We live in a world so full of stimulation, information, and expectation, and in that, we can lose sight of ourselves and the beautiful dreams that each of us holds. Don’t WAIT to realize that dream!
The world NEEDS more of who you are. It needs someone with exactly what is in your heart. There are no two people with the same dreams, goals, voice and power as you do. NO ONE.
That voice that says that there will be a “right time” is a lie. The time is NOW. That voice that shares the FEAR is the mind. The ego, not your wisdom and soul. Don’t WAIT for the dream, step into that heart space, ride the wave and live that dream NOW.
That beautiful small voice inside your mind whispering that it is time for change knows the way. Imagine a sage from long ago who is holding out her hand to you, ready to guide you on your journey. That is your intuition and it knows and realizes your dreams before you do.
I invite you to dream BIG. Every time I have allowed myself to pursue a dream I am so filled with joy, creativity and it leads to deeper impact. You too are being called to listen, to “lane change” and to ride the incredible wave of this life and so lie back, release control, trust and create the dream of your heart! By GOD, make some WAVES.
- Jennifer Zenz-Olson
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