Last week, a friend of mine wrote about her sister’s recent death and the wise words she left behind for her and her daughter.

“Do everything you can, while you can,”were her departing words.

Over the course of life, we can become narrow-minded, fearful and self-limiting in our thoughts and actions. We may confine ourselves from spreading our wings and moving forward, toward a more fulfilling life. 

We can lose control of how we want to live our lives by letting others project their desires of what they want onto us. Consider your relationships in your life, your career and family. We live in a social, materialistic, media-driven environment that can easily lead us away from focusing on our own needs.

We strive and attach ourselves to achieving perfect outcomes and meeting everyone’s needs, both leading to an unsustainable reality. This environment can create mental restlessness and agitation along with an unrewarding life, unless we take back control. This way of living may eventually cause ongoing stress that escalates to anxiety.

We want to manage our lives, but we have given our control away to others and many of us don’t even realize it. Look at your boundaries. Who are you letting in and who are you leaving out? 

Take time to explore and listen within to find your aspirations.

You may be thinking I’m too busy; I don’t have time; I have kids who are active in school events; I don’t have the money; I am not good enough; I can’t do that; or people will laugh at me. 

Repeating negative statements in your mind becomes “your story” about what you believe about your life and we tell ourselves many stories. Your internal dialog can create a scenario that you repeat over and over, giving you reasons why you cannot do what you would like to do. These stories build a wall around you, loaded with obstacle after obstacle, creating your present reality. We become addicted to our excuses, our stories. The mind does not know which excuse is real, or made-up. It only believes what we are telling it. 

Our stories contain fear. Fear creates limitations. We fear that we are inadequate or not good enough. Some feel that they do not deserve to give themselves the time to go after what they truly want in life. They do not feel worthy of spending time on themselves to develop who they are or discover their inner wants and desires.

Words are influential. Beliefs are powerful.

Take time to listen to what your inner dialog says and how it shapes your decisions.

Dig deep to hear your thoughts or desires that have been lost, dampened, put to rest, or ignored within you. They are still there. You may have covered them up with meeting the needs of everyone else.

Heed the words of my friend’s sister, “Do everything you can, while you can.” It is easy to be a bystander to life instead of being an active player. 

Take these actions to get back in your game:

• Be aware of the stories you tell yourself.
• Build strong personal boundaries to regain energy and strength to make your life whole and fulfilling. 
• Take the time and have the courage to look within.
• Listen to the whispers within you and flourish.

                      “Do everything you can do, while you can.”

Roe Chiacchio is a cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation RN, personal trainer and certified dementia practitioner. She integrates her background into a specialized style of training for each of her clients and shares her perspectives and knowledge in her articles published in PenBayPilot.com.  Her business, ONWARD, Cardiovascular Health, Wellness and Dementia Management is located in Camden. For more information, contact her at 207 249-8166, roechiacchio@gmail.com