No matter what chapter you are currently in, the story of your life continues to unfold with you as the main character. The question you have to ask yourself is this: Are you co-creating your script in the best way possible, in order for you—the hero of your story—to realize your full potential and achieve maximum life fulfillment? If you want to take charge of your life, here are ten core philosophies, my favorite pearls of wisdom, that can act as your guideposts and shift your story entirely.

(1) Your perspective on life is merely a reflection of your belief system
You have your own thoughts and thought processes that make up your unique belief system, which, in turn, directly affects all that you feel, say, and do. You see your life and perceive the world through your own specific lenses and customized filters. Therefore, your opinions and assumptions, your perspective and personality are merely a reflection of your system of core beliefs. Realistically, the only way to change a behavior is to first change the underlying thoughts and beliefs that drive it.

(2) Embrace your true essence in order to fulfill your unique potential
Although you have unique gifts and talents that were bestowed upon you, it’s up to you to discover them and to realize your full potential. People will be certain to tell you who they think  you are and who they think you’re supposed to be, and your authenticity will ultimately be challenged. You will always be defined, labeled, and judged by others and by society, but this is all you really need to know: No matter what the world tries to impose upon you, you can always choose to be the authentic and real you, without masks and free of armor, loving all parts of you, in order to create a meaningful life. This is the essence of true happiness.

(3) Don’t fear life’s challenges, for growth lives within every one
Life is full of both beautiful and challenging chapters; it’s the nature of the journey. What is essential to understand is that you need not fear the difficult times for therein lies your greatest growth and learning. Your most important life lessons are realized from your having to find your inner strength in order to navigate your way through a most challenging chapter. For some, the awakening may be immediate; for others, the lessons are learned over time.

(4) Knowledge applied becomes wisdom lived
You can fill yourself up with knowledge, tools, and resources of all kinds, but if left untapped, they are of little use. The key is to learn how to internalize and embody the knowledge so that you can access it and apply it whenever necessary. Wisdom is being able to empower yourself to use what you know in order to best navigate your way through all of life’s chapters, the light as well as the darker ones, from those that are most joyous, to those that are most challenging.

(5) Seek to flourish and thrive and not merely to survive
If you’re breathing and your heart is beating, then you are technically living, but you may not be living your life fully alive. You can move through life on autopilot, merely surviving from one day to the next, or, you can choose to thrive and flourish, by living your life from a place of passion and purpose. When you live from that place of knowing what lights you up, brings you alive, and elevates your soul, you will be living your life on purpose and fully alive. Energy will simply flow into you and out from you, and you will positively thrive, as both your being and doing states will be working together to create an overall sense of joy and well-being.

(6) The energy you exude is the energy you attract
Everything in this world is made up of energy, whether you can see it or not. You are literally a walking magnet; the energy you offer in any given moment is also what you’re attracting back. Happy, high vibrations attract happy, high vibrational circumstances. Likewise, low energy out brings low energy back. It’s always a vibrational match. You will find far greater life satisfaction if the energy you exude is positive. You can find evidence to support this every day.

(7) Health and well being of mind, body, and spirit is your greatest wealth
You may currently define your wealth in terms of success, and success in terms of power and money. Alternatively, you can choose to see health, meaning the well-being of your mind, body, and spirit, as your greatest wealth. These three components of well-being are interconnected and impossible to separate. Each one has a direct affect on all of the others, and together they create a wholeness of both being well and doing well, which truly defines a wealthy life.

(8) Trust in the empowering energy of courage and love over fear and anger
The spectrum of emotional states is vast. Anger and fear are considered negative emotional states on the lower end of the spectrum, and not surprisingly, they are toxic and disempowering. They are consistently called on by the ego to keep you safe and living within the boundaries of your “comfort zone.” Choosing to step into your “courageous zone” will tip you into your power. From there you will find access to many other positive emotional states, such as love, gratitude, joy, and peace. You can trust in the empowering energy of these higher end, feel-good states.

(9) Don’t try to control life—choose your response to it
You cannot always control your circumstance, but you can control and choose your response to it—that is always yours to define. Between every stimulus and reaction there is a space, and within that space is the power to choose just how you want to respond. Even when you’re triggered and your buttons get pushed, or when obstacles arise, large or small, it’s possible for you to pause, breathe, and remind yourself that your mind can reinterpret the experience through a different set of lenses, resulting in a more desirable outcome. You can be impulsive, reactive, and controlling, or calm, accepting, and open to possibility. You have the freedom to choose your response to life’s unfolding.

(10) Surround yourself with a reliable and loving support system
Although you may choose to be your very own unconditional champion, when you attempt to change you will still require the love and support of others. People will be there to support your change journey if you seek them out. When you give yourself permission to ask, you give someone else the opportunity to give and you the opportunity to receive. Choosing to reach out and ask for help is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and to others.

I use the phrase “you can choose” within each of my core philosophies, to reinforce the concept of personal choice. You see, every thought you think, every belief you maintain, and every action you perform is of your own choosing. To deny this fact is to disempower your life. The journey from old to new, from safe to uncomfortable, from the familiar to the unknown may leave you feeling scared and vulnerable, but on the other side of that fear lies your greatest growth. You may have to choose to unlearn in order to relearn and deconstruct in order to reconstruct, as there’s no other pathway to change and reinventing yourself. But the script is yours to write; the choice is yours to make. Your mind is yours to empower; your life is yours to transform. You can choose to make your next chapters your best ones yet!

Coach Terri