Defy Expectations

“The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations.” Julia Cameron

Welcome to a new week!

A time change, a little warmth in the air, a first look at daffodils - Hooray! There's optimism to be had and yet it's  so easy to plow through the work week without a single, strategic thought of where we are heading.

Instead, the routine of going to work, sitting in traffic, and shuffling through the grocery story for dinner ideas fills our hours. We watch a little TV, check Facebook, and ignore the nagging voice that the routine is somehow unsatisfying.

To be sure, maintenance days will always outnumber days of spectacular brilliance, but if you're not careful, life can become ALL maintenance; and that's not much of a life!

In fact, in her book "Five Regrets of the Dying," Australian hospice nurse, Bronnie Ware, says the #1 regret of the dying was the sentiment, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." (Working too much was #2!)

And so it's worth taking a hard look at why you do what you do. There's always value in wrestling with the idea of "purpose." Of course, there's  a lowercase "p" as in, "What's my purpose in where I live or who I spend time with?" AND you can't ignore the uppercase "P" as in, "What's the Purpose of my life, my faith, my talents?"

Unless you want to live a life someone else designs for you, it's critical to ask and answer the question,"Why does ______(fill in the blank) matter?"

That's not always an easy question to answer, but it's the start of a living a life that defies expectations.

What are your hopes and dreams for this week?

Are you aiming high? Honestly...

Or are you living the life others expect of you?