Living the Good Life Even Through Life’s Adversities

Image by Jessie Harrell

Today’s guest post is brought to you by Tawanna Browne Smith of Mom’s Guide To Travel. Be sure to visit her blog and follow her on Twitter!

Life is a funny thing. I think we all grow up with ideas or daydreams about what the good life is about. For many of us without the wisdom of experience, we believe the good life is synonymous with ownership or acquisition of things. We equate living the good life with consumeristic and materialistic ideas. We all do it - it’s a human thing.

At some point, those of us who are lucky enough to arrive at a deeper place of consciousness realize that the good life is more than just material things. Sometimes it’s a circumstance, or an adversity, or even something metaphysical that awakens us to a new meaning of life.

I grew up with ideas of what my own good life would be. Those ideas are far removed from what my life is like now but I’m fully aware that everything I have gone through or am currently experiencing is not without reason. I’ve fully subscribed to the fact that God has a plan for me. Having a child battling both leukemia and autism, and a husband facing possible deployment, I still think life is good. Because God is good. Some days are particularly stressful but thankfully, that’s not every day. And I do my best to focus on the moment.

I’m blessed to be able to get paid to travel - it’s a family life and a personal passion. So as much as I try to focus on the moment, when it’s a dark one, I think about the next adventure, the next trip. And when I’m on that trip, I’m there 100%, enjoying that particular moment. Without question, in that space I feel like I’m living a good life. Do I have everything I thought I’d have at this point? No. At the same time, do I have things that I never thought I’d have? Yes. Am I cured of all materialistic aspirations? I wish. But I know life is all about balance and as challenging as it can be, it is still good.

Five Steps to Get Closer to Your Dreams **Guest Post - Sili Recio**

From Lucrecer: This is a guest post by Sili Recio. I am honored to have her share her words and vision with my readers. Enjoy!

 

So often we get so caught up in the long list of things that could go wrong that we do not focus on the challenge of following our dreams. After all, we have so much going on: daughter, mother, partner, wife, employee, boss, you name it, we do it. The long laundry list of titles and tasks at times hides those aspirations that we once had. Do you know what I’m talking about?

If you do, there are a few things you can do right now to get started down the path of making a life and not just making a living.

Decide – sounds easy, right? It is. Decide. Right here, right now that you are going to do ___. Whatever it is that you’ve been harboring in the depths of your creativity. No time like the present right?

Be bold – I always ask my dreamers this question: what would you do if you knew you could not fail? It’s a classic and certainly gives you an idea of what you would do if all of those doubts and fears were out of the way.

Demolish the doubts – the biggest thing I have to work on with my dreamers is demolishing the doubts that they have about fulfilling their dreams. And not just their doubts. I also have to teach them to lovingly set aside the naysayers that come in the form of their family and friends

Surround yourself with positivity – making your dreams come true is not easy. It takes a lot of work and constant support. Make sure that you have people around you that will motivate and support you along the way. This could be (but often it is not) a family member. Make sure that there’s someone there to give you sound advice, not just agree with whatever you are saying. But the most important thing is to have a support system when those doubts creep in.

Have a plan and follow through – planning is key to fulfilling your dreams. Many of us have to work around our regular jobs, family obligations, etc in order to make our dreams come true. This takes careful planning and setting realistic goals. This is where a dream coach comes in handy in order to keep you accountable, motivated and focused.

Your dreams are sitting patiently waiting for you to begin the process. It is not easy but I can tell you that it is very rewarding. Don’t wait until “the right time” to start working towards your dreams. The right time is when you take that first step and decide.

So let me ask you: what would you do if you knew you could not fail?

When not pretending she’s an entrepreneur to her family and friends (who have no idea what she does all day long on this blog she acts like she owns, Facebook and Twitter), Sili is busy rearing and shaping her 3-year-old frog princess into a natural born leader (read: she’s bossy and she gets it from her mami). She is also preoccupied with trying to figure out how to get more shoes, books, and tech gadgets. Sili wants world peace and a good glass of wine. And whatever those two things might lead to. Read more of Sili’s writing on her blog My Mamihood.