By Sarah Carter, LCSW

“To be empowered—to be free, to be unlimited, to be creative, to be genius, to be divine—that is who you are…. Once you feel this way, memorize this feeling; remember this feeling. This is who you really are….” ― Joe Dispenza

Each day we have an opportunity to choose whether we want to be a creator or a victim of our life. Our experiences greatly depend on the narrative and the story we create in our lives. We can choose. Do I want to be the victim or survivor of my life?  What part do I want to play? Reacting to past stories and narratives short cuts our creative flow and passion to truly be victors of our own destiny. Each day is an opportunity and if we can decide on how we want to show up

Our bodies and minds are hard wired to protect us but also to help us survive trauma. The difficulty with staying in the past is that our bodies are continually reacting to possible past threats. This mechanism allows us to survive when we are faced with a threat, such as being chased by a bear. However, when the threat is no longer there and we continue to engage in survival behavior patterns we stay in past behaviors. We can manage this by engaging in activities that assist us with managing stress.

Setting small and simple goals each day keeps us centered on our goals and the focus of our lives. Without direction of our vision and future picture statement it’s like trying to reach a destination you’ve never been to before without a map or GPS.  Here are some suggestions to stay Future Focused:

• Be willing to take risks to create a vision for yourself. When you are walking the path of change expect to face challenges
• Read or look at pictures of your vision every day. Take small daily actions and be deliberate, intentional, and realistic with your daily goals. Great things happen when we focus on the simple steps to achieving our goals.
• Be willing to open your heart up, and this may mean accepting failures and rejection along the way. If we never try, we will be unable to create what we are looking for in our lives.
• Step into the unknown and accept that you may not understand what is before you. If you have your map (Future Vision) you will find your way to victory.
• Find a team of individuals to support you with rising. We thrive when we are connected to others that see our full potential and encourage us to rise to the greatness within us.
• Discover who you are, sit in silence, meditate, hike, get outside and connected to the world around you.
• Embrace that fear is part of the journey. Our lives often become a manifestation of our fear.
• Be willing to succeed and even fail, just get up and try again tomorrow. You will learn that failures can lead to some of our greatest victories.
• Discover who you are meant to be and trust and know that you can and will rise to your full potential.
• Set intentions each and every day and believe in your potential to rise!