I’ve said this out loud more times than I can count: I really like working.
Maybe you can relate. Or maybe you can’t. Either way, I recently sat with a question after recording a podcast with my friend Justin Roethlingshoefer that I haven’t been able to shake:
“What keeps people from fully living and enjoying life?”
Ugh. That feels like a gigantic life inquiry. The best way I know to answer it is to start with myself, then see if it mirrors something broader in how we all move through the world.
So here’s what I came up with.
In the past, I did not allow myself to fully live or enjoy my life because:
- I was too busy striving for more and placing pressure on myself to prove myself.
- I was not clear on what I wanted, where I was going, or what my priorities were in my current season of life.
- I worried about the perception of others and what they would think about me.
- I was disconnected from myself, from God, and from meaningful relationships.
- I was hypercritical of myself.
- I was never fully present in the moment. Often reliving what I had just experienced or projecting into the future.
- I was heavily guarded. I did not share vulnerably. I did not ask for help.
- I took on too much at work. I was overextended. I micromanaged, even though I told myself I didn’t.
- I measured my life against other people’s lives and always came up short.
- I filled every quiet moment with noise or busyness so I never had to sit with myself.
- I was always moving the goalposts. More, more, more.
- I didn’t know who I was outside of what I did or what I produced.
That’s quite a list. And most of it was because I was too focused on myself, even though I was constantly “doing” for others.
And yet, as I have allowed myself to fully live life through many experiences, I’ve learned that transformation is not one dramatic moment. It’s a series of quiet choices, made over time.
Here are 4 tangible steps that I can pinpoint that changed everything for me:
- I got clear on who I am, where I am being called to serve, what I want, and what I need to let go of to step into my next level.
- I ruthlessly take care of my mind, body, spirit, and energy.
- I let go of needing to have all the answers.
- I show up to every interaction and experience open and with a relentless curiosity.
What does this bring up for you today? Can you relate to any of these? What is keeping you from fully living? What would be your next step toward fully living and enjoying your life?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to send me an email at carmen@carmenohling.com, I read every one.
If you want to hear more about my conversation with Justin, be sure to subscribe to the Amplified Life Podcast, because his episode is dropped next on July 6th!
Until then, I will leave you with this quote to ponder:
“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play; labor and leisure; mind and body; education and recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.” — Lawrence Pearsall Jacks
With relentless curiosity for life,
Carmen
CEO & Founder, The Amplified Life Company