The age-old question of determining how we can best move forward through our lives with the fluctuating energy patterns and differing priorities can be extremely tedious and difficult! What if we are just overdoing it and need to rethink our "cares" in our lives? In this episode, we explore the various opportunities that we can start immediately (TODAY!) in order to start changing our mindset and cultivating more wholesome experiences in our lives, even if that means traveling across the country by car to do it!

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

determination, all converge into an amazing, heartfelt experience.

This is Speaking From The Heart.

Welcome back to episode number 11 of Speaking from the Heart.

Today we're going to talk about the enduring question as why we should

continue the push forward regardless of the obstacles that we face, and I know

that that is so much of a broad subject matter in itself, and which is why we're

going to narrow it down in this episode more particularly about the ways in

which we can just find the energy within ourselves to endure, to create, and

to make amends in some cases as well.

For many of us, I know that we can talk about this subject at great length,

even when it comes to the different things that we do on a daily basis.

Whether we're getting up, brushing our teeth, getting dressed for work,

even if that is for in person or just walking across the living room and

logging in, it doesn't matter where we find ourselves in a particular

given time or space of a certain day.

We definitely have all kinds of different things that we have to abide by with

struggles, with scheduling, with personal energy levels in which we have to

utilize to continue moving in the right direction, and I know for many of us,

trying to find that ability to do just that might be a struggle within itself.

Now, if you recall in episode number seven, one of the values that we talked

about of the business, Your Speaking Voice, was about determination, and that

is really the type of energy that we're referring to when we're having this sort

of conversation, because for many of us, whether that is a personal relationship

or a professional relationship, the ways in which we engage with other people

can certainly dictate the way in which we go about our lives, and that is so

important to consider, given the fact that for many of us, we don't have that

time to spend on meaningful relationships.

"Meaningful relationships?

Don't you mean my family?

Well, Josh, I spent a lot of time doing just that!", and I'm not saying

that you don't, but for many of us, we might be listening to this

very episode thinking, "Oh yeah.

When's the last time I actually talked to so-and-so and saw how they were doing?

What can I do to reach out to them?

I know that they just been in the hospital recently.

Should I send them flowers?

Should I go visit them and bring a meal?

Should I do something else?"

I think for some of us, it's not necessarily that we forgot about it, it's

that we have to worry about now that we remembered that we should do something

about it, and having the obstacles that we face to try to do something like

that, amongst all the other things, such as taking the kids to soccer practice,

taking them to the next great adventure that might be at a rollercoaster

or even a ride in amusement park.

Even taking them to Vacation Bible School, which I'm sure many of us

are doing amongst this time of year.

However, I'm not just simply talking about those sort of things.

What about for you?

What is it that you should do so that you have the energy level to

continue doing all those things that I just listed, let alone so much

more, and it's all about balance.

The balance of being able to say that I need to take care of myself at this

important juncture, or being able to understand, more fully, the ways in which

we can move forward and move backward when we need to move backward because somebody

forgot something at the house and I have to drive all the way back and get it.

Really, the ultimate question is, with all those things going on, sometimes

we're asking ourselves, "Why should I care?", and I'll tell you that for

many years of my own life, before I even started the business, that trying

to find that care, that compassion for something else, was really tough.

It meant examining some of the things that were going on in my own life,

which personally I didn't have very good influences, and I don't know about you,

but maybe you have some influences in your life that certainly talk in that

length, but they also don't really talk to that great length either when it comes

to not only the things that we need to do for ourselves, but even for each other.

Trying to find ways in which we could find that energy to say, "I care, because...",

often means making a sacrifice.

I know for me, I had to take that sacrifice to a whole new level

by taking care of myself first, and this leads into a story that

I want to share with all of you.

Eight years ago, while working at one of the state agencies that I worked

at, my boss saw me just completely dejected, completely removed, feeling

as if I had the whole weight of the world on my head and shoulders.

She said to me, "What are you still doing here?

You have plenty of time built up.

Why don't you take a long vacation?"

I thought about it, pondering at my desk, thinking about all the piles of

files that are around me that I needed to work on, along with the various amount

of purchase orders and things of that nature to be processed so that people

can be happy where they are at right now.

Thinking about it some more, and then realize that, "Ah

yes, I do need to do this.

Aha!

This is the time to do it.

I want to take a vacation", and I remember October 2015 as being one of

the more memorable experiences of my life when I loaded up my 2010 Dodge

Caliber filled with supplies in which I was able to eat, consume along the

way, and to take a road trip from the middle of Pennsylvania all the way over

to the southeastern part of California.

Now, I will tell you that this is the first time I transversed the United

States in a road vehicle across all the various interstates, the majestic beauty,

especially being early fall, before even any snow laid, was probably one of the

biggest adventures in my entire life.

It woke me up to the question of, yes, there are things to care about.

Being on the road, traveling through the variety of different states,

including even Colorado, and the most beautiful of the Rocky Mountains,

gliding across the plains that are open, and also seeing thunderstorms in the

horizon coming down into Arizona, all the way around the bend of California

with its rocky mountains as well.

I was really happy.

I was really content of doing this road trip, and I was able

to see a friend that I didn't see for over six years at the time.

It was one of those moments in my life where I really felt like I

could enjoy what was around me.

The Pacific Ocean, looking at it for the first time with my own two

eyes was something of a sight to be seen, especially as sunset occurred.

I was almost sad to leave.

As I packed my bags yet again for another few days of travel all the way to

Pennsylvania, I took the southern portion of the route, going all the way through

Texas, all the way up then back home.

It was one of those experiences of a lifetime in which I wish, even now packing

up my bags, taking this podcast on the road would be something of great adventure

as well, but we can always do that.

We can always make that opportunity for ourselves if we're just willing

to carve out that time to do it.

The question of where that energy came from really originated with one

person, and that was my boss, Dawn.

Dawn is somebody in my life that had forever influenced me and understanding

that there are some great supervisors out there, and if you don't have a boss

like Dawn in your life, I know that we can get some opportunity for you

and others to really circle the wagons and help you to have an adventure just

like that, but even with all those things in mind, why should I care?

Josh, that's fantastic that you were able to recharge yourself and come back, have

that experience in your belt and move on.

Whoop de do.

What about the things in which we might not have that money?

We might not have that opportunity.

What are some of the things that we can start the practice in order to

create some of those opportunities in our own lives without spending even $1?

Well, here's a couple of things that I have learned over the years,

especially the last several months that might be helpful for you, especially

as you're set out on that journey.

Think about the relationships that you have in your

life and leverage them to the fullest.

Huh?

People?

Talking to them?

Helping me?

Why yes!

You might not even realize it, but there are people surrounding you right now that

could have those opportunities waiting for you just to venture into the grand

unknown, to have opportunities that you otherwise would've never seen yourself.

Things that allow you to move on and have practice of commitment and

inspiration for moving forward to the greatest opportunities that are ahead.

That means setting a plan for yourself so that you're able to create some of

those great adventures for your own.

To even have the energy to do that means that you have to put a

little bit of yourself out there.

some of you are not ready to have that sort of plan ready,

so you might be asking, "Josh, what can I do instead of that, especially

if I'm not quite sure what to do next?"

If you aren't ready to talk to people about it, the best thing to do to start

out is to simply have a pen and paper and start writing out all the things

in which you truly do care about.

It's really about separating the things that you do care and do not care about,

and yes, you have to identify the things that you should not care about.

Those could be people in your life.

Those could be things that you continuously do over and over again and

you're just not quite happy about how those outcomes come to be what they are.

If you are able to just simply write down: where does some of the things that really

give you joy, while also helping you to understand the things that don't give

you joy, you could start to purge some of those things that might be energy suckers.

Those are the things in which really detract from the opportunities that really

present in front of themselves, because really, you're shrouded in a cloud of

darkness every time that you actually look at that item on your list and think,

"Man, do I really have to do this?"

It's almost as if we get up in the morning as I even explained earlier, brushing

your teeth, getting dressed, maybe there's some things that you can minimize in that

process in the beginning of the day so that you're ready and more energetic to

take it on, but even with talking with people and even writing it down, one of

the most effective ways in which helped me to even get started with what I'm

doing is thinking about and brainstorming out loud: What are some of the things

that could be by envision future?

What could be in your future?

Maybe it's something that you can just do within the next week.

Maybe it's something that you've been putting off for a long time.

Maybe that thing that need to be fixed around the house.

Maybe that's leak in the car that needed to be plugged and you need to take it to

the mechanic, or it could be as simple as doing something for yourself that you

have never been able to do for quite a long time; maybe going to your favorite

restaurant, maybe going to a arcade.

There are places that allow you to have all kinds of different types of fun,

whether that is for ax throwing, whether that is for the different types of things

that you could exercise within yourself.

It's all about understanding a little bit more of not only the things that you can

do to create some of those opportunities, but giving yourself a little bit of

love and acceptance along the way.

Even being able to do that starts to change your brain

pattern, and that's the goal.

There are many different ways in which we are able to do that, in which I've

listed three of them for you to begin, but even with that said, each of us

have unique struggles, which is why I'm offering you to reach out to me.

Contact me on my website, www.yourspeakingvoice.biz, and let's talk.

Let's figure out a way in which we can start to re-engage in that conversation,

and figure out what might be the best fit for you, because the path in

which we overcome with obstacles is complex and full of different types of

landmines that are placed along the way.

Being able to navigate that, even with a compass in hand, and even a map for

that matter, whether that's on our phone or physically, can still be challenging

in itself, but we need to figure out the ways in which we can care, not

just about ourselves, but about each other, and that is really the key.

We've already had guests on this show that talked about how we could truly

care whether that is from the people that are differently enabled as just

the last episode talked about, or even to people that are human centric.

It's about connecting yourself with a vast network of different individuals

and even people for that matter that allow you to see not only the things and

the opportunities that are out there, but also seeing what could be possibly

on the horizon, just like that sunset I got to see just eight years ago.

The opportunities that we present, to not only each other, but to

others, really starts at its core.

We need to make a commitment to be able to spend a little bit of time to do that

and that can be the most challenging thing, given our wide network of

different things that we do on a daily basis, but it's easier than you think.

You can certainly start anywhere, as long as you're taking baby

steps, and that's the key too.

It doesn't mean we have to exert so much energy in which we have

to do what is the latest fad.

That doesn't mean essentially going on this crazed diet in which we're able

to feed ourselves with this nutritious food, which later might not be as

nutritious because we overdid it.

We didn't listen to the experts.

We should have been doing it a completely different way.

I think of things that are fads.

Those fads can really do more damage than actually do good, which is

why it's so important to invest in yourself with having a pencil and

pen, and taking some time to journal about what those sort of things

are, that might be obstacles or not.

By simply writing down a list of what you care about and do not care

about, you can certainly start to ask yourself the question of, "Why

should I care about these things that are not giving me any return?"

After all, it could actually turn into some of the things that maybe

you've been putting off for a long time: divorce, career change, getting

that medical procedure done, maybe something completely different than

those three reasons, because no matter what it is that faces us, we can

certainly find the reason to care.

All we need to do is repurpose it into something that we truly believe is

necessary for ourselves, not to just make amends, not to just even move on

in our lives, but that brain change can certainly help us create some of

the best versions of ourself if we're willing to think outside the box and

that's truly what this is all about.

Learning how we can adapt in this ever-changing world by

simply thinking about ways in which we can care differently.

Even if it is just the small amount of writing down and taking some time for

yourself, just as you're taking time to listen to me, you can start to make

strides in that direction that you always wanted to take, and for that, that

makes you a great person to work with.

That makes you a great person in which you are going to become something that you

never thought possible because starting with that, you have unlocked the door

that has been shut for a long time.

That door of "why should I care?", and you're walking through it, knowing

that you are going to be able to help yourself, and possibly others, in seeing

what it means to not only be personally enriched, but professionally developed.

You can have a Dawn do just that.

You can experience some of the most majestic beauty of the United States.

You can even enjoy some of the things that are just in your backyard no

matter where you are in the world.

All it takes is for you to push forward, knock those obstacles down and see that

those setbacks are no longer setbacks.

They are you getting out of your own way.

Thanks for listening to episode number 11 of Speaking From The

Heart, and I look forward to hearing from your heart very soon.

Thanks for listening.

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