Life is Constant Change

April 12, 2017

Never has change been more apparent to me then during pregnancy. Everyday brings something new. My daily abilities and mobility change minute to minute. Growth and expansion are so apparent. My yoga practice has also changed so much with some poses being completely inaccessible to me all of sudden. At first glance, this can be frustrating and depressing. But then I realize that the frustration is a result of trying to hold on to a past identity or grasping at what I was once able to do. I can look at my tummy expanding and get fearful that I will never be the same size and shape I was before this pregnancy. I can watch my flexibilty and muscle mass decrease and worry about how long it will take me to regain it back.

Change can be hard to digest and scary to face, especially when it is so apparent and noticeable. It is extremely confronting. It makes me realize that I am getting older and will never be the same as I was a year ago.

The truth is that we are all changing every moment of every day.

Venturing into the Uncomfortable Unknown: Three Steps to Encourage You to Take on a Big Life Change

March 1, 2017

I recently got an email from a reader that is struggling with making a big life change. She wants to make a career shift but is struggling with motivation since she is comfortable where she is. She doesn’t NEED the change but she WANTS it.

I have been in this exact same position many times and I know so many people that have been in it as well. I feel like it is a right of passage, of sorts, on the career path. We find a job, we enjoy it, we get bored, we want a change but we don’t know how to start.

The truth is, it is scary to take on a big life change — especially one that involves our livelihood and finances. For some reason it feels like too great of a risk to go after our hopes and dreams when money is involved. Seeking pleasure in career is a hard sell when you are making enough money to be comfortable.

In fact, being comfortable but not fulfilled is one of the most dangerous and daunting positions we can be in.

**Motivation doesn't strike like lightening or turn on randomly like a cartoon light bulb to get us moving again. And if we wait around for it to strike, we will become stagnant.**

The Truth About Motivation

February 22, 2017

I recently watched a talk with Mel Robbins about motivation and the idea that we have to feel ready in order to change. Her claim is that this is a huge falsehood that holds us back in life. She says that the way we are wired a humans, "we are not designed to do things that are uncomfortable or scary or difficult." It is a survival instinct that keeps us safe and out of harms way. And the belief that we will one day feel ready to take on a challenge only ends up holding us and preventing growth.

This was a powerful talk for me to listen to because I recognize the feeling. Many times I have felt a lack of desire to do something new or uncomfortable and hoping that I will one day get a spark of motivation that will make me actually do it. But this video helps remind me that is never going to happen randomly.

Creation Follows Destruction

November 17, 2016

Through all of this change that is going on in my life and all the craziness that is going on in the world, I am left thinking a lot about the Hindu God, Shiva.

Shiva is the destroyer God.

For awhile, before I understood the concept, I always had trouble understanding why a God of destruction would be worshiped.

But what I am learning is that not only should we honor the difficult parts of life (in this context: destruction, loss, breaking down of systems), we also need destruction in order for creation to start anew. The other side of destruction is transformation.

Starting Anew

November 1, 2016

Starting over is tough. Restarting, reestablishing, regaining momentum... I feel daunted by all that I have to begin again.

We have moved to a new state, a new city. I am re-envisioning my career path. I am restarting the Happy Heart site after many weeks of silence...

I feel overwhelmed and some of the old fears start to set back in -- will I find purpose; will I do as well as I have done in the past; will I find a community; am I good enough to take on this new stage in my journey?

But what I am reminding myself of is that I am not starting from scratch. I am not starting from nothing. Over the years and the changes I have been through, I have built up many tools and lessons. I have grown so much since the last time I had to "start over."

is timing really everything?

February 17, 2016

Timing is everything, some say. And there is truth to that. We cannot control the timing of life. We cannot make the perfect moment present itself whenever we want it. Sometimes we have to wait for inspiration to strike or for events to align in order to create a more fulfilling life, to make progress on a major life project, or even to find the right partner. Timing does impact our ability to affect true change in our lives.

However, that does not mean that we get to sit around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for that perfect moment to hit. We have to put in effort to realize change. We have to work when it is hard and inconvenient, work when things suck, when timing is awful. It may feel frustrating but we have to continue to take baby steps so that when the timing is right, we are prepared.

Grounded & Centered

January 7, 2016

Explorations on feeling grounded amidst change

Life is constant change. We are constantly moving and growing and changing. Every day is different. But sometimes it is much harder. During those major life shifts or transitions, when change feels particularly hard, we can completely lose our center. We forget what it means to feel grounded. We find ourselves having to pick up the pieces of normal life and figure out a way to move forward. But how do we do that? How do we rediscover our center and come back to that feeling of being grounded?

Stillness

December 15, 2015

I have been working to incorporate more stillness in my life. I have always appreciated the idea of stillness but I have hit up against a lot of internal resistance in the past when it comes to actually being still. But, now more than ever, my body has been telling me that I need to rest and be still. And I am listening. But change is hard. I have been so used to being in constant motion over the past 10+ years that it is hard to figure out how to slow down.

Finding balance is an evolution of self

December 9, 2015

Balance is not something we can reach at one point in time and maintain forever; rather it is something we find over time. Finding balance in our lives is not like measuring weighted scales where you can add a little of this, take out a little of that, and come up with perfectly even sides. Things change everyday – our bodies, our thoughts, the people around us, the world in motion. Even in yoga poses, we constantly move and adjust to stay in balance. As time goes on, our idea of balance changes. What once worked may not work in the future. What works in one part of our life might not work in another. Finding balance is an evolution of self. It takes patience and perseverance but the result is always powerful.

Tree pose in the jungle: Balancing amidst the movement of nature.

Sgt. Perry's Happy Heart Blog

inspiration to spread happiness

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