Welcome to the 26 days of Happiness! Today is day 15. Please meet featured author Heather Waring from the soon to be released book: The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care, 25 Tools for Happiness, sharing their inspiring story!
We all have moments and periods of happiness in life but are we genuinely happy?
In my wilderness years building up to my burnout, I went through terrible periods of unhappiness. Although things were good at times, there was an underlying dullness and ache inside me, a sadness that made me feel lost, incomplete, and unhappy.
I am an upbeat, energetic woman with a sparkle in her eye but that had dimmed so much that I feared it would never return. But it did. It happened when the pain of remaining lost and disconnected resulted in realising that I had to find me again. I owed it to myself.
When I looked at the causes of my despair, gloom, and low energy so much of it was because I wasn’t looking after myself, I wasn’t doing what filled my soul and gave me joy. Instead, for much of the time, I was doing what I felt I ‘should’ be doing. I was doing what others expected me to do and what others indicated was the right thing for me to do.
Without realising it, because it crept up so slowly, I had lost my way.
The Power of Authenticity
Authenticity has always been one of my top values, but I had stopped honouring it. I no longer knew who I really was, and I was scared. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t think I was brave enough for the journey ahead.
What I want you to know is that this journey was the best one I have ever embarked on and I can honestly say that facing up to my demons was, in no way, as bad as I imagined it would be. Yes, there were tears, but they were cleansing tears; and in articulating thoughts I had never shared before I immediately felt freer, enabling me to act on them.
To be authentic, we need to be able to face up to the truth about ourselves, no matter how unpleasant that might be. Through doing this, I rediscovered and reconnected with me and came out the other side a much better version of myself and into a place of happiness. I started to honour that authenticity again.
So how can finding that true you, bring you to a place of happiness?
Do what you love and what you are passionate about.
- What is it that you love to do?
- What is it that makes you smile and brings you joy?
- What is it that you would do for long periods of time if you could?
By indulging in the above, and in what you are passionate about, you will be so much happier. You will spend more time in a place that is joyous. It will then rub off on others and you will attract those who want some of that happiness.
Know your values.
Your values are important in your life and determine who you are. Without them you would feel lost and rudderless. They act like a benchmark to guide you on your path and can be used as a measure to determine what thing you might decide over another. They help you prioritise. Examples of values are freedom, recognition, belonging, community, fairness, loyalty, authenticity.
Once you know your values the next step is to ensure you honour them. Going against your values will not make for a happy outcome. It might not seemingly affect you in the short term but in the long term it will gnaw away at you. This was one of the things that led to my burnout.
Get in tune with your intuition
This can take practice but learn to trust your gut feelings and follow your instinct. If you think back to times in the past, I am sure you will see where this has served you and where ignoring it has let you down. Being in tune here makes you much more self-aware and it’s easier to make decisions from this place.
When I am looking to really connect, I go for a walk in nature and allow it time to weave its magic. I may get into the meditative rhythm of my walk or find somewhere to sit where I can breathe deeply and connect, but you can of course do this indoors too.
Honour your authenticity and live life from that place to you know who you are. You will have the confidence to step up as yourself in your beliefs and to speak your truth. It is easier to create your path, to set your goals and intuitions and to attain them through ease and flow.
A Life of Choice
You are freer and living a life of choice. The relationships in your life are truer and deeper too as you are not willing to give time to people who don’t value and appreciate you. You want to be with people who share your interests, goals, and philosophies and to build genuine loving relationships.
This is not going to happen overnight so give yourself permission to take small, sustained steps, that is what will get you there. Small steps give us plenty to celebrate along the way and celebrations and achievement bring happiness, things we are building at all stages of our journey.
Enjoy.
– Heather
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Happiness awaits you! Thank you Shari Alyse for this wonderful review! Grab your copy of The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care, 25 Tools for Happiness on Amazon 2/11/21
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Heather is a transformational coach, author & speaker. Her mission is to impact the lives of women through the simple activity of walking. She creates space for women to rediscover and reconnect with their true self and reignite that spark and essence that has got lost along life’s path.
