“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
-George Bernard Shaw
Actually, I believe life is both about finding and creating yourself.
I spent my early twenties working in the film and theater industry in NYC. Although this was partly my truth at the time, as I love the arts, I wasn’t actually being very creative. I worked for a very large talent agency where we represented other people’s creativity. After a while my seemingly glamorous life wasn’t making up for my soul’s deep ache to express itself. This was made evident by all of the mysterious functional health issues I started having, namely lots of digestive and hormonal imbalances, not to mention some roller coaster mood swings. (Remember, mind and body are one.)
I spent several frustrating years trying to “find myself” and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. The funny thing was that after all those years, I figured out that the “me” I was looking for was right under my nose and I didn’t see her.
One day my boss, who was one of the partners of the company, overheard me speaking to a client about her diet and remarked, “I swear I think you talk to the clients more about their health than you do their film projects!” Then a light went on and everything started to come together.
I was fortunate enough to be introduced to things like nutrition, exercise, meditation, yoga and personal/spiritual growth as a teenager and was immediately hooked to all of it. I spent much of my free time reading everything I could about health and embodying a holistic lifestyle. It was my passion. It was what inspired me and made me light up. My other passion is people. Those that know me will tell you I am a huge “people person,” ask lots of questions and have always been truly interested in other people.
I went on to complete several yoga teacher trainings with some of my favorite instructors and enrolled in pre-requisite courses for naturopathic medical school while I taught yoga. Then I moved to Arizona, where I knew just one person, and spent four years in naturopathic medical school. I can’t say the path was easy, but it has definitely been worth it.
Finding ourselves I believe is the first step to reaching our potential and living our best lives. Figuring out what makes you come alive, what inspires and motivates you, your passions, what you would do even if you were not paid, are all clues to who you are. But then you need to act and create the rest of your life to find deep fulfillment. You need to actually do what you love.
This doesn’t always have to be a drastic career change either. I also love to paint. The first time I picked up a paint brush, I had no idea what I was doing but knew I loved art and actually taught myself to paint over time. Years later, it’s a serious past time of mine that gives me immense joy. Hours will go by when I’m painting that will have felt like minutes.
What makes you come alive and makes time stands still? Go do more of that. Maybe you are yearning to start doing something new. You don’t have to know what you are doing or be an immediate expert. Just start. Take a class, begin writing, painting, dancing, traveling, cooking, yoga or anything else you have a curiosity about. Curiosity is a clue to who you are just as much as passion and motivation are.
Curiosity, passion, motivation and inspiration are all whispers from the soul expressing itself. All of the answers are already inside of us. We just need to quiet the noise of the distractions of the outer world and tune into that voice inside. The language it speaks is love. Listen, and then do and be what you love. What you love is who you are.
In love and in health,
Sandra Olic, NMD
Check out her website here.
Pingback: Life is about creating yourself | Todd's Point of View