As much as I enjoy the celebration of the winter months and the optimism that a New Year brings I welcome the renewal that comes with spring! This is the time of year when I do my “dream check” to evaluate my progress towards accomplishing the goals that I’ve set-out to achieve this year and be honest with myself about the areas where I’m on track, and the areas where I’m completely missing the mark. Absent of a plan and deadlines, I know that my dreams will remain “daydreams” if I don’t make room in my life to actively pursue achieving them. That is much easier said than done! With so many competing priorities that come with being a wife, mother, daughter, entrepreneur (and a sister-girlfriend too), I often end the day feeling like I have nothing left to invest in myself and question how I will muster enough energy to invest in my dreams.

Recently, a dear friend connected with me via Facebook and asked, “What happens when I wake up and know that what I am doing is not what I am destined to do?”  She is an accomplished professional, Ph.D., and has invested all of her resources in pursuing her current profession and has found that the woman she has become no longer “belongs” in the life that she desires to live.  I too had that moment when “destiny was calling” and I didn’t know how to begin to transition into the life I wanted. Here are a few things that I’ve learned along my journey:

Seize the Opportunity

Make no mistake, waking up to destiny can be disturbing!  It challenges everything you “thought” you were and what you thought was important.  It can cause you to doubt, and be fearful of your future.  But, look up… The fact that you are experiencing fear, doubt, or just may plain think you’ve gone crazy is how Dreamers know that they are on the right track and asking the right questions of themselves! Waking up to destiny  presents the greatest moment for you to seize the opportunity of living your dreams because it may be the first time that you are asking yourself who you “are” outside of what you “do.” It might be the first time that you’ve challenged your motives or been willing to take the risk of being unpopular.  This may be the moment when you “get it…” When you finally understand that your life is not “about you,” and that it is far more important for you to make a contribution in the life of someone else instead of pursing personal achievement.