Perfection is another word for Procrastination. Procrastination is another name for Perfection.
I keep meeting people on a daily basis who keep their dreams on hold, for some perfect day to take action when that perfect opportunity arrives. People who are too afraid to take steps toward their dreams believing they are not good enough or there aren’t enough opportunities in their fields of desire. People who want to change their life situations but stay stagnant in their current circumstances. People who are not excited by their passions, who are not living their visions, who don’t even attempt to do so, who have an idea or inspiration but are waiting for the perfect circumstances to show up in order to act on them. People who wait and wait to be ready for that perfect life or to start that dream vocation. People who don’t even know what their dreams are, who have never taken out the time for soul-searching or figuring out their passions. They keep their life on hold, engaging in mundane chores and get caught up in the daily humdrum of life that do not inspire or motivate them an iota but the comfort of routine gives them a sense of safety; then they crib and complain about everything that’s not perfect in their lives.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. No one is going to come to you, hold you by the hand and take you to the river. No one is going to hand over your dreams to you. If you do not get up and walk toward your dreams, then no one will do it for you. An inspiration strikes for a few seconds only. If you don’t act within those first few moments of that inspired idea, or at least make a good mental note of it and follow up on it, then it will fizzle out. Your mind will take over and reason you out of taking any action. You will continue to be where you are. But if that is where you want to be, then why is the other option even a tiny bit exciting?
Let me break the secret. There is nothing called a perfect life. There is no perfect opportunity that will one day knock at your door. Your perfect life is right here. Right now, wherever you are, whatever circumstance you are in, is the perfect place, the perfect opportunity to take the first step toward your dreams, perfect to propel you forward toward living your grandest visons. What is the definition of perfection anyways? You may do or create something that some people will like and some won’t. It is the nature of life. Everyone will not like you anyways. People who are after perfection keep their lives on hold; they procrastinate their dreams, procrastinate acting on their dreams. People who wait for perfect circumstances to act are essentially afraid of being disapproved of. It is an insecurity within; a fear of disapproval and consequently disappointment. You must be okay with others not liking or disapproving of you or your work. Not everybody will appreciate or love what you do and that is okay. Disappointment, defeat and disapproval are life’s ways to lead us on our destiny path. You will get better at your art as you act on them and sharpen your skills over time. But while you are getting there, don’t rob the world of your creative genius! Sitting at home with your hands folded will not get you anywhere, other than connecting with similar people. But when you take a step towards whatever you endeavor, the universe will send you the people, places, circumstances, situations needed to manifest your desires. Still, first you have to make the choice and commit to your dreams before you are ready to receive from the universe.
Every day, every moment, every choice you make, every decision you take, every thought you think, every belief you believe, every word you speak, either takes you toward your dreams or away from it. Life can often be overwhelming with so much to do, confusing with no real guidelines, intimidating with so much expectations to live by, but we have to prioritize our dreams, before we have developed so much resistance that we find it impossible to even dream anymore. Time flies. Well in the absolute sense time doesn’t exist, but we have only so much time here on earth to live our dreams, to make that impact, to create that difference, be it in our own personal lives, or in the lives of others. What are you so afraid of? Losing face? Respect? Not being good enough? Who cares when your soul is cringing to express itself? It is costing the world when you play small. You have a lot to give, not just to the world but to yourself. Start by being good to yourself. Honor your hints and hunches, your snippets of wisdom from heaven that are constantly nudging you, guiding you on your path. You can choose to ignore them and live a miserable comfortable life. Or you can honor them and live a magical adventurous life, by getting in sync with your true desires and listening to your heart. And when you take a step toward your dreams, the universe will send you help. Take my word for it. You are never alone on this voyage called life. Ever heard of beginner’s luck? When you commit to your dreams, it might inspire you to take a course to learn the skills needed for their manifestation, or go to a retreat, read up etc. Help will come to you in many forms, some so subtle, you would only notice on hindsight, but there’ll be help nevertheless from people you least expect. So keep your eyes and ears open, while you are living the good life, fighting the good fight.
Take out some lone time to figure out what drives you wild, what sparks your passion, what ignites your imagination, what calls your spirit. You may have to change or fine tune your desires with time, but that is okay. The first step is the big step that will propel you on that road to freedom, the road to self-realization. Be it something creative or artistic, be it an innovation, be it self-expression through writing or poetry, be it a passion for the environment, empowering women etc. Your heart knows it. The perfect life that you are waiting for, is waiting for you. The world is waiting to receive your gifts, to receive you. Don’t deprive us of your greatness, believing that you are not good enough. You have no idea, just how good you are. In fact, it can’t get any better than you! And if you still cannot believe in your goodness, then stand in front of a mirror,
look into your eyes and say to yourself: I am enough. What I have to give to the world has value. Do this everyday until you fall in love with yourself. If you believe in yourself, others will too. To do what you love, you will need courage, lots of self-esteem, respect for your own ideas and love them, without being bothered by others’ approval. And while you are at it, enjoy the journey, the feedback, the ups and downs, the roller-coaster to your dream life. A smooth ride has never led anyone far! People will rarely appreciate you at the beginning, especially if you have a daring idea. That is where you will need the maximum tenacity and audacity, cultivating inner strength. And when you succeed in your idea, then people will accolade you and call you cool because you dared to be different. It is always like that with people. So don’t be bothered by them.
We live in a world where the Law of Attraction is at play all the time. It basically mirrors back to us externally whatever vibration is at play, internally. If you feel the need to wait for perfect circumstances to arrive, you will wait forever, because that is what you will create more of: waiting! So the time to act is now. Wherever you are at, you have the knowledge and the tools to create your dream life. When I was a Language Profesora in Latin America, I always asked my students on our first class, even before I got to know their names, what their dreams were, if they had a passion. Most of them proudly named their dreams, but most of them were also nowhere near their dreams, neither living them nor acting on them. Traveling came Number 1 for the majority. But when I asked what stopped them from traveling, they said money or the perfect opportunity. Or they were saving up for retirement to travel! Traveling is never about money. What money did I have when I traveled the world? Barely enough to even cover my food expenses. I change countries like people change clothes. Most of them had never left their countries or even explored the beauty of their own countries. I had been to more places in their countries than they had seen their own country. Heck so many of them didn’t even know where India is! Some thought India is in Africa! In my first class with any new group, I always drew a world map on the whiteboard, showing them where they were and where my country was, on the other side of the world. Else they could not fathom nor had any clue how far India could be. Most of them only knew the distance from their country to Miami! Then I told them, if it took less than 3 hours by plane to Miami, then it took 36 hours by 3 planes to reach India. And their jaws dropped. They could not believe they had a teacher from that far to teach them English! Perhaps the same way many Indians don’t know where Costa Rica or Venezuela is. Whenever I was asked what my passions were, I said something I could do for nothing, something that stirs my soul and makes me feel alive. My skills were poor but I did not give up. Or give in to the other unexciting life.
Most people sit and complain about their miserable lives, yet have no courage to take action toward their dreams. They live such boring lives as they keep building more houses but forget that the soul needs neither security nor comfort. They forget the magic of being alive. They give up on their dreams. Then they are miserable and they don’t know why. They contract illnesses and blame life. But actually, they are afraid of taking risks, afraid of failure, afraid of disappointment, afraid of invalidation, afraid of disapproval, afraid of not being good enough, afraid of imperfection… fears galore! They fall into routine, comfortable in their safety zone as they put in the backseat the slight tugging of their hearts, the nudging of their souls. But life was not meant to be secure or comfortable. Security has become a disease in our society. Read my article: you want guarantees? People seek security everywhere forgetting who they really are. Caged in the four walls of their houses, when every day becomes the same as the previous day, when life sets into monotony, routine and predictable, then they manifest all sorts of chronic diseases, until death claims their bodies one day… so they can arrive at death, safely!
People act out of integrity all the time. This is because their inner and outer worlds are not aligned. They say something but do something else, believe in one thing but act in another way. This creates internal conflict and bars our progress forward, as a species. Don’t do things out of a sense of service or reward from the opinion of others; do it for the pleasure and alignment of your self with your own truth. And before you know it you’ll be doing what you love and saying: there’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing than this. This is who I am. This is who I choose to be. This is what I want to do. All of me is in this… It will come more from a place of inspired action than a sense of duty. And if you would rather be someplace else, then go there. Keep yourself in vibrational alignment with who you really are. What makes you feel alive? What you can do for nothing? What incites your spirit and motivates you? You don’t need external validation or anyone’s approval but your own. Always, inspiration is the key. God communicates with us through inspired ideas. Angel whispers come in morsels. That is why it is so important to act on an inspiration, the instant it knocks.
Today, right here right now is the time to take action, to propel you toward your grandest dreams. If you don’t take the first step today, then you never will. You will forever procrastinate, waiting for perfection. And perfection will always come tomorrow, never today!
Seize the day… carpe diem!
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