3 Simple Steps To Fall in Love With Your Life

What is the meaning of life? What makes for a life that matters?

For many it’s what others think of them. For others it’s what they build or create. And for others, it’s the feeling that they have made a difference.Yet, there is really only one measure of whether your life really counts: have you lived a purpose driven life?

Fall in Love With Your Life: The Effortless Path

The sub-title of The Passion Test is “The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose.” How can it be effortless? The Passion Test process involves many steps, looking deep inside yourself and can often take some time to complete.

But it’s not taking The Passion Test that leads you to fall in love with your life. Your passions do that. The value of The Passion Test is helping you identify what those are. When you consistently follow your passions (the things you care most about, that matter most to you), then your purpose will unfold effortlessly. You’ll look back one day and say, “THIS is why I am here!”

You have a unique and special role to play in this life. No one but you can fulfill that role. Your passions are like breadcrumbs that lead you down the path of your purpose driven life.

3 Steps to a Purpose Driven Life

Want more joy in your life? Follow these simple steps to create a purpose driven life that is worth living:

1.) “Whenever you’re faced with a choice, a decision or an opportunity, choose in favor of your passions.”

If you’ve spent any time around us, you’ve heard us repeat this often. It’s the single most important principle you can follow to connect with your life purpose and to live a fulfilled life. When your decisions connect you to what you care most about, life feels like it has meaning. You’re aligned with your reason for being alive and life is good.

2) Learn to recognize the feedback from Nature’s Guidance System and apply the Expansion Process

Nature’s Guidance System is what we call the constant feedback we all get all the time–I’m feeling happy, feeling down, excited, exhausted, committed, confused. All of us have these experiences of “expansion” and “contraction.” They are a natural part of life; just like breathing. You can’t have expansion without contraction. Expansion is a signal to take action, move forward. Contraction is a signal to go within, take it easy, be kind to yourself and stop trying to achieve anything for the moment. Contraction is always a time to gain more clarity, to discover more so you become clear about what will lead to the next wave of expansion. When you feel contracted, this is the time to be gentle with yourself. Take time off, do things that are fun, let the inspiration for the next step of progress arise from within you. In our ebook, “From Sad to Glad: 7 Steps for Facing Change with Love and Power” we teach a simple process for returning to expansion whenever you feel contracted. Here it is in a nutshell:

- Notice  - Notice when you feel irritated or angry or shut down or frustrated or tired or any other feeling that doesn’t feel good. These are all various signals that it is time to take a break. Until you notice, you aren’t conscious. Becoming a conscious creator of your life begins by noticing.

- Breathe –  Take some deep breaths. Whenever you feel upset or distraught, your body will shift into fight or flight response, your breathing will become shallow and you’ll find it hard to remain calm. So take 3 or 4 deep breaths. Notice that your body expands as you breathe in and that this helps relieve some of the tension in your body.

- Ask to be Open - When you’re contracted, you’re more likely to say “No” than “Yes,” even to things that are likely to help you feel better. So ask yourself if you can be open to expanding again and consciously choose to say “Yes” to things you know will help you feel more expanded.

- Go into the Feeling – Feel the feelings that come up. Take some private space to sob or rage or express whatever you’re feeling. This is not the time to be with anyone else. Just be with yourself and feel the feelings that are there are as completely as you’re able. In this, you’ll find that your emotions begin to heal. And what helps that process is to do the next step at the same time.

- Feel the Sensation – Notice any tightness, tension, discomfort anywhere in your body and allow your awareness to easily go to that feeling. Your consciousness is incredibly powerful. As you put attention on the discomfort in your body, you’ll feel it begin to unwind and dissipate.

- Use the Tools - Tools are anything you know will help you return to a more expanded state. This is the time to make a state change (we all experience 4 states–mental, emotional, physical and spiritual). By shifting from one state to another, you will begin to naturally feel more expanded. So, if you’ve been working hard on a report, doing challenging mental work, getting up and taking a walk, or going for a run, or working out can have the effect of clearing the mind so you are even more productive. If you are emotionally upset, dancing, praying or meditating, or talking with a friend can all be ways to help you return to a more comfortable state. This is the time to use wonderful tools like “The Work of Byron Katie” (www.thework.com) that can help you get to the source of the discomfort and investigate the thoughts that have caused you to feel upset.

- Communicate Clearly – Maybe you’ve noticed that when you’re upset (i.e. contracted), that’s not the best time to communicate, especially with someone you love? Wait until you start feeling more expanded. Then use this 3-part approach to communicating with love and clarity.

* I love you – Begin with what you appreciate or value about the other person

* And - Use “and” rather than “but.” And connects while “but” separates us from the other. Ever have someone give you a compliment then have it get wiped out by the “but” that came after?

* I love me – This means to communicate your own needs. Having demonstrated that you appreciate the other person and their perspective, this is the time to make it clear what works for you.

3) Fall in love with every moment

Every moment of your life is for the purpose of helping you know yourself more deeply and in that to fulfill your unique and special purpose for being alive. When you recognize that and begin to look for the gifts in every experience, you’ll be blown away by how radically your experience of life shifts and you will fall in love with your life. When you are able to welcome as gifts of love even experiences that others would call terrible or awful, then life is lived in a constant state of joy.

Discover More: Find The Meaning of Life

All of the above is true, and can add great richness to your life, and do you want to know the real truth?

Your life counts, just by virtue of your being alive.

There is nothing you have to do, no one you need to become, nothing you have to achieve to create a life that counts. The very act of living your life creates an influence in the world that will help those you come into contact with you discover more of the truth and meaning of life.

Fulfill Your Life’s Purpose

Living life with passion has the power to transform your life into one full of love, happiness and meaning. Find your purpose and discover how you can use your passion for inspiring and empowering others to become an entrepreneur who ACTUALLY makes a difference in the world around you! 

With love

Janet Bray Attwood