Be Yourself

"You can't base your life on other people's expectations."

~Stevie Wonder 

We've all done it at some point or another--tried to live our lives based on someone else's expectations.  Those people might have been our parents.  Or maybe our peers.  Or a significant other. Most of us have learned the hard way that basing your life on other people's expectations leaves you living someone else's life.  And, just like wearing someone else's shoes, it may not fit very well.  You life needs to be a reflection of you.  It needs to reflect what is important to you, what you are passionate about, what brings you joy (or sorrow).  Each of us is given a life to live, and we deserve to live it to the fullest. 

This week: Take a hard look at how much you are living your life to fit someone else's expectations.  Are you compromising your values to get along? Are you ignoring things you like to do because someone else doesn't feel the same way?  Are you going along to get along?  Are you avoiding long overdue confrontations?  If so, make a decision to be more of yourself.  Do ONE SMALL THING to express something about yourself, regardless of whether or not others approve.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people identify what is most important to them and help them overcome the "need to please." She wants people to live meaningful, purposeful lives and created Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authenticity, a self help CD/workbook program.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Make Time for What Is Important

"It is time to make the time."

~Henry Dumas

How often have you said "I don't have time" or "I'll do it when I have time"?  Too often we make excuses about time.  While it is true that there is a finite number of hours in the day and often more demands on us than there is time to do them, there really IS time--for the things that are most important.  Unfortunately, we sometimes don't spend our time on the things that are most important.  We postpone those and instead busy ourselves with minor tasks or time wasters.  If something is important in your life, it is time to make the time. 

This week:  Spend 20 minutes planning your week.  Look at what the demands on your time are.  What things have you been postponing saying you "don't have enough time."  Look honestly at them and ask yourself "If I keep postponing doing this, what will be the result?  How important is this to me?"  Evaluate all of your tasks for the week this way.  Start postponing the ones that are not as important.  Even if you don't have a block of time to spend on an important task, begin to do some small step toward accomplishing it.  Notice how that feels to you.  Sometimes when we pay attention to what is really important and "make the time" for it, we rediscover a passion that had been lying dormant. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and certified trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She specializes in helping people overcome the obstacles to their success and happiness and begin living more meaningful lives.  She is the creator of the Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authencity program as well as the Banish Self Sabotage series.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Live Each Day Fully

"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

~Abraham Lincoln

If you want your life to count, you need to live with meaning.  Don't waste your time doing unimportant things.  If you do not yet know what your life's purpose is, discovering it can change everything.  If you life according to your life's purpose, you begin to live with passion, with creativity, with intention, with meaning.  You make those years count.  You impact not only YOUR life, but the lives of those with whom you come in contact. 

This week:  Think about how you would like your life to be remembered.  What is really most important to you?  What do you feel passionate about?  What do you stand for?  What themes have played out in you life?  Is there a hint in all that about what you are meant to do, what your life's true purpose is?  To know your life's purpose, you must first know yourself, because that purpose needs to fit you.  Spend some time this week thinking about what is most important to you, what your unique gifts may be, and how you would like to make your life count.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people create lives of greater meaning.  At the Inner Resource Center, LLC, she helps people identify their inner resources so that they can maximize success and happiness, while living meaningful, authentic lives.  She has created Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authenticity, an easy to follow program for identifying your life's purpose.   For more information, go to http://www.InnerResourceCenter.com .

To Change the World, Change Yourself

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

~Leo Tolstoy

Many of us want to change the world, or at least change those around us.  What we often fail to realize is that when we look to ourselves and begin to change, those around us begin to change in response to the differences in us. 

This week:  Change one small thing about yourself.  Change an attitude; change your response to someone; react differently than you usually do.  Do that for at least one full day.  Now notice how others change in response to the changes in us.  Consider making those changes permanent and enjoy the impact that has on those around us.  Imagine how the world would change if everyone changed one small thing...

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people make changes in their lives.  She specializes in helping people discover their life's purpose and move toward living more meaningful, authentic lives.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Make Your Life Count

"Every man dies. Not every man really lives."

~William Wallace

At some point or another, we will all die.  It is an inevitable part of life.  But we can choose how to live.  We can live fully and meaningfully, or we can drift through life until it ends.  To live a meaningful life allows you to make a difference in your life and those around you.  If you are not sure what your life's purpose is, you can create it.

This week:  Think about the mark you would like to leave on the world.  How would you like to be remembered after you die?  Write a eulogy about how you want to be remembered.  Now begin to take a step toward creating that sort of life.  Reach out to others.  Make your life count.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and certified trainer.  She is the author of an audio CD/workbook program:  Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authenticity.  Her mission is to catalzye, facilitate and support personal growth and transformation for people who want to live with greater meaning.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .