Living Fulfilled or Fearful: We Have a Choice

Pick up any self-help book, spiritual guide, or memoir about a person who embarked on an unexpected journey in life, and you'll quickly find that the thread connecting all of them is the search for purpose in life.

I've reflected on this recently, especially after listening to Paulo Coelho's interview on Oprah's "Super Soul Sunday" podcast. He's the world-renown author of The Alchemist--a book I've heard of but only recently placed on hold in my library account.

This book is said to capture the true essence of what life is about, what we're all searching for, and his phrase "personal legend" has stuck with me. Apparently, one of the characters describes each person's "personal legend" as his/her destiny--the path we know we're meant to take if we're brave enough to pursue it, denying any excuses that could impede our journey.

I love the way he passionately spoke about this destiny as something that we have control of, something that we know in our hearts as our unique purpose. But, as he continues, it's a path that many of us never take, because we place such a high value on perceived safety over potential risk.

While we don't always verbalize it, isn't it true that we often choose to defer our innermost needs and dreams so that we can rest in the "comfort" of the familiar? We even talk ourselves out of our deep-seeded needs in order to justify the way we're willing to simply accept reality for what it is:

I don't hate this job. I could be fine in this relationship. I know that my friends mean well. I'm sure someone else will organize that project. I would cause problems for other people if I did.

At the end of the day, I've found that my own avoidance in the past and present has always boiled down to fear. Whether we blame finances, other people, our "situation", or even God, our excuses are simply fear in a victimized form.

Zach Williams' song "Fear is a Liar" couldn't ring more true. I liken this to my previous post on sacrifice. If sacrifice often entails more than we think we're offering, then how much does fear blindly steal from us?

The fear to engage in the unknown often begins with "what if...." followed by several, horrible, and unlikely outcomes. Flipping that script, though, it's scarier to consider how you end "what if..." in terms of not pursuing your personal legend.

What if...

• A new career would fulfill you on a daily basis, instead of your constant 'is it Friday yet' routine?
• Moving to that city would open doors for friendships and interests you didn't know existed?
• Taking that class would be the tip of the enlightening iceberg you were always meant to conquer?

I challenge all of us to verbalize or pen our most genuine, personal legends. They might be in the realm of that career you knew you were always meant for, that character trait you know you're meant to embody, that challenge you know you're supposed to conquer, or any other path that you know is intended for you.

It's one thing to know our personal legends in the back of our minds and pretend they aren't there, but to say or write them out and own the fact that we have a choice that we're consciously choosing not to make... now that's a more challenging truth to face.

Even if you choose to defer the dream a little longer, or even forever, at least you'll know what was truly in your heart and which risk was best for you--because either way, you're choosing to take a risk. No choice is still a choice, right?


Here's to a reality that can be reinvented as many times as we choose,


Kristy