This Is Your Life—Are You Who You Want to Be?

Sometimes we get stuck in the space between, not quite sure we should take action and go for it but positive we can no longer stay in the place we once were. The space in between, the unmet expectations and dreams yet to be realized. This space is where the real living happens, for it is in this space we can make the choice to settle and hide away from our desires or go for it and live more fully.

I just made the choice to live more fully. For the past several months, something has been off. Nothing anyone else would notice but a stirring within myself, a deep, penetrating whisper that vibrates throughout my soul. It has been getting louder. I can no longer ignore it, the desires of my heart. They demand to be realized.

I think we all have these whispers, and if we ignore them, they eventually become impossible to hide from. “This is your life. Are you who you want to be?” the lyrics of the song by Switchfoot echo in my mind.

The first time I heard this song was six years ago when I was suffocating in a deep depression, working in a corporate career in advertising. The song lyrics inspired me to become who I wanted to be. I let go of what wasn’t working with blind faith to pursue my passion for travel and writing.

Much like a determined child who has yet to learn the harsh ways of the world, I set out to live my new life, ignoring the negative perceptions and what the world said was impossible. I left my corporate career to follow my heart and become a writer, and by pursuing my passion, my depression disappeared.

Flash forward to today. I am living the life I set out to create, I got my wish. Every bit of it is fascinating, wonderful, and gloriously beautiful. But still something feels off.

“This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it to be?” the lyrics continue in my mind. I have a website and company called Play With the World, but I haven’t been doing much playing, at least not to the standards I know I am capable of.

The result of ignoring my own needs: an overweight body, a disappearing act of self-esteem, and a static, numb attachment to life. I have been so focused on the day to day of just trying to live that I forgot to invite my dreams along to play.

I’m wide awake and alive, but it’s clear I have not really been living. My life has become routine, habitual, stale. It’s not broken, but it needs to be fixed.

We get to places in our life where we fall deep into habitual routine and daily motions. Left unchecked, we become stale, lifeless, even bored. We just go through the motions.

It’s time we stop focusing on what’s happening out in the world and give care to our own internal world. We have needs that live deep inside of us that yearn to be realized.

We want to feel more, be more, show up more fully for ourselves. We can do this by letting our dreamer come out to play. The reality is, if we don’t keep dreaming, we fall victim to an unfulfilled life.

We always have a choice. We can hang onto and grasp what no longer serves us, or we can let go and let our heart lead the way.

Today I’m letting go. And for the first time in my adult life, I know with 100 percent certainty I’ll be alright. That’s the reality of letting go—it feels like freedom.

I’m done trying to fit into society and do what is safe and expected. I am letting go and jumping into my life wholeheartedly. I want to feel the depths of life and all its glorious explorations. It’s time to dream bigger.

My dream that is about to be realized: Work and live overseas for six months.

Six months, six countries.

I’ve decided to take six months of my life and explore this beautiful world. I will run my business of coaching, writing, designing, and speaking from different corners of the world.

I left corporate so I could run my own business from anywhere in the world, but I haven’t been honoring that promise to myself. That is all about to change.

My mission statement is “The world is my office and I play with it daily.” It’s time I live this more fully. Come along with me.

We owe it to ourselves to listen to our hearts. The dreams that come to us are the invisible architecture of our life. When we honor them we show up fully for ourselves. And when we show up for ourselves, we show up for the world.

Who do you really want to be? You owe it to yourself to live fully. What dream has been tugging at you? What steps can you take today to go for it?

So the only question that remains is, this is your life—are you who you want to be?