There was a time when everything was possible. Not just seemed possible—it was possible. Nothing could stand in your way. No obstacle too big, no challenge too great. Those were the days. Remember them?
Maybe you do, or maybe they’ve slipped from memory, nothing more than a vague recollection of something once better. Nowadays, where you once pursued the cry of your soul with the heart of a lion, you pull yourself through each day, longing for that comfy chair and glass of wine to help you unplug from the drudgery.
What happened?
You stopped being you and became someone else: a version constructed by the people and circumstances in your life. A compliant version. A version that didn’t rock the boat. A version that did what was expected, instead of what was right. A version that simply wasn’t you.
But the real you never went anywhere.
They just slipped from view, overshadowed by the personas that evolved as you sought to ‘fit in’. All that potential is still there, waiting to be unleashed. Those dreams still live on, waiting to be brought out to play once more.
So if the real you is still present, why is it so damned difficult to break out of this prison to which you’ve become accustomed?
Because the world doesn’t want the real you.
The world is determined to suppress the real you, to contain the disruptive, radical force that simmers within; while feverishly growing and nurturing that version of you that maintains the status quo, that toes the line. That version that is not you at all.
And so you go to your workstation and follow the rules. You’ve learned not to think for yourself, not to question. You do the work, collect your pay cheque, pay your bills, drink your wine, watch TV, and then do it all over again.
Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
And you know that it’s a rubbish existence. But what choice do you have? This is just how life is. To believe it could be different seems naïve.
But what if that discontent isn’t destructive—what if it’s pointing you toward something truer?
Normal isn’t this existence you’ve settled for. Normal is your potential unleashed. Normal is dreams pursued. Normal is the wonder of disruption and innovation. Normal is the real you, fully alive.
But how do you find normal?
It’s a process, that starts where you are right in this moment.
Right now, what is your biggest obstacle? Your biggest challenge? Your biggest disappointment? Make a note of each.
Now imagine what life might look like without that obstacle. What possibilities would open up? What space would be created?
How might you tackle that challenge? What could you do to dismantle it?
Turn your attention to your biggest disappointment. What would put that right? How could you replace disappointment with fulfilment? What would that look like?
Now bring it together: without those obstacles, what opportunities emerge? What would need to happen to bring into reality the fulfilment you envision?
You now know what needs to change. So change it.
Look, your potential is limitless, so set it free. Start today by committing to just one action that would begin dismantling the barriers between the version of you that exists today and the person you really are.
Little steps. That’s all that’s required. And piece by piece, the blockages will fall away and the real you will emerge once more.
