Mindfulness Coach Angie Johnson Teaches You How to Feel Free From Within

It’s that time of year for our beautiful country to celebrate its freedom!

What better time to evaluate the areas in your personal life where it’s time to create greater feelings of freedom and enjoyment.

Here are some question to consider:

If your life were a country and you were the President, how do you think you are doing at maintaining your country’s freedom?

How free do you feel within the work you do?

In your relationships?

In your home?

In your finances?

When we are not feeling free, we usually describe our situation as “stuck.” Many people use the word stuck to define those life situations that seem as if there is no way out.

Freedom is the end result or the reward for knowing the kind of life you wish to experience, taking the sometimes difficult actions and making the choices that create and maintain that experience.

Freedom is clear of restraints or resistance created by the limitations of your own mind or the minds of those around you.

Freedom is a feeling … a feeling that says, “Nothing is holding me back or standing in the way of my enjoyment of this life.”

Stuck also creates a feeling … a feeling of hopelessness and despair. The perception of being “stuck” creates low energy or a lack of motivation to create change.

Let’s explore three steps that can take you from feeling stuck to feeling free.

Step 1- Find your resistance.

What is your difficult life situation?

Where do you feel stuck?

What mess have you already found yourself in?

Write it out. Now ask yourself, “Is there any action that I can take to eliminate this from my life or change my circumstances (within reason)?”

If the answer is “yes, but,” I want you to realize you are not stuck. You are avoiding taking a difficult action that would restore your feeling of freedom. You will need to go deeper into your own fears, fixed beliefs, and deal with the part of you that is willing to settle for less than a free and enjoyable life experience. This step can take some time, some patience with yourself, and willingness to become the strong leader of your life. The price of your freedom is being willing to bravely face your own fears, find your voice, and be courageous enough to use it.

If you answered “no” to the above questions and there is no action you can take to improve your freedom in this area, it’s time for a change of mind. Changing the way you perceive a situation from a negative light to a positive one can go a long way to creating feelings of freedom and enjoyment.

Step 2- Declare your Independence.

Sometimes it’s the mind and beliefs of others that create resistance in our lives and sometimes we do it to ourselves.

When you think of that restricted area in your life, ask yourself,

Why is it restricted?

Who or what is causing the feeling of restriction or resistance?

If you can clearly see the resistance is coming from the fears and beliefs of another person in your life, it’s time to make a choice. You can limit your freedom and tiptoe around their insecurities, or you can lovingly declare your independence and create healthier relationships. Again, this action will take courage but the freedom to be yourself is worth it.

Step 3- Define your borders and defend them.

Borders or boundaries help us maintain our feeling of freedom and experiencing the life we chose to live.

Sometimes we feel stuck in situations because we said yes when we should have said no. Before agreeing to a request on your time and energy, ask questions. Something or someone is requesting to come into your life and take up time and space.

Do you want it?

Is it necessary?

Will it add value to your life or create stress?

This is where you learn to be a good customs officer for your life. If you don’t catch things as they enter your life, if you are careless, it will be much harder to deal with once it has set up camp. It’s easier to say no upfront than it is to clean up the mess that person or situation creates in your life later on. You get to choose.

Take time to write out a few things you value in your life. Start taking steps to bring more of that across your borders.

To learn more on how to find the courage to reclaim your freedom, go to www.you2masterclass.com/my-free-life-project.html

And to learn more about Angie, go to www.angiejohnsey.com

This essay was featured in the June 30th edition of The Sunday Paper. The Sunday Paper is the paper of record for individuals who want to be Architects of Change, lead meaningful lives and Move Humanity Forward.  To get inspiring and informative content like this essay delivered to your inbox each Sunday morning for free, click here to subscribe.

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