Are You All In?

Are you all in with the vision for your life? 
 

Let me ask that a different way.
Are you committed to stepping into the best version of you?
Are you committed to leaning in to your purpose, your calling, and playing full out? 

To my surprise, when I asked myself this very question my answer was no. I haven't been all in, I haven’t been fully committed to creating the life I talk about wanting to create or being the person I want to be.
 

If I was ALL In, I wouldn’t have walked away from hosting my podcast which I did this past July.
 

Now I could argue I needed time away to recalibrate. And that’s true. Sometimes we need to take a step back to see the big picture.
 

But I didn’t think I was coming back.
 

Then I went on an inward looking journey to re-explore what it is that I want. What do I want? What do I really want?
 

This is such an important question, and we must keep coming back to it.

When I asked myself that question, the answer hadn’t changed. It’s been the same for a long time. I want to guide people to connect with their true essence, their higher selves, and to create a life full of love, purpose, well-being, and joy. I want to be part of a collective that is raising the vibration on this planet. 

Yes. That’s what I want.
 

That’s when my soul voice spoke up and asked, “And are you All In with that vision Anita?”
 

That made me squirm. I was uncomfortable with the answer that was bubbling up, so I pushed it away. How very human of me. 

But God, Spirit, and the Universe wouldn’t leave me alone.
 

A few days later I received an email from a sister podcaster, Trish Murray who hosts the show “The New Age Tour Guide Podcast.” Her latest episode was called “Are You All In?”
 

When I saw that, my first thought was “are you kidding me?” But of course I had to listen to it and when I did I felt God was speaking to me through Trish. And I allowed my feeling around the answer to that question to settle a little more.
 

Two days later I was listening to an audio book by Jay Shetty, "Think Like a Monk." And guess what, in his charming English accent he asked the very same question. Are you all in?
 

Hmmm. I’m feeling those niggles.
 

The next day, I receive an email from my former business coach. Lisa Marie Platske. If you’ve read my book you know she’s the one who gently insisted I do that 30 day nature challenge that completely changed the direction of my life. Needless to say, she is someone I deeply respect. In her short and to the point email she encouraged me to reconsider my decision to stop podcasting. 

As you may know, I do not believe in coincidence. And I do believe God is speaking to us in a multitude of ways all the time. God was speaking to me through Trish Murray, Jay Shetty, and Lisa Marie Platske. 

“Alright," I relented while reflecting on this one early morning “I’m not all in, but I want to be. I want to be ALL IN.”

That’s when I realized I needed to go deeper into myself to understand why. Why haven’t I been going All In? So my meditations and my walks in nature became about exploring the answer to that question. I’ll share a little more about that in a minute.
 

When I get nudged, particularly when I’m being nudged to step into the best version of me, I like to nudge you Joyful Journeyer, because that’s what I am here to do. That’s a big part of me going all in. And if I want to guide people to step into their best selves then I must also strive daily to step into the best version of me. You see, you and I are on this beautiful journey together.

So let me ask you again, are you all in? Or is there something holding you back from fully committing to your vision? Fully committing to you.

To properly answer these questions, you need to first ask yourself, as I asked myself, what exactly “all in” looks like. The answer will be different for each of us, depending on what we are trying to achieve. However, there is one thing we must ALL do to be all in with whatever vision we are moving towards: we must honour our commitments to ourselves.

Ask yourself, what commitments do you need to make to step into being the best version of you so you can create that purposeful vision for your life?

Although I have identified several commitments and associated action items that will powerfully move me forward with my vision, there is one commitment that is relative to all of us on our respective journeys. We must commit to a daily spiritual practice.

Whether that's meditating, journaling, chanting, reading scripture, doing yoga, going on mindful nature walks, or something else entirely or a combination of activities. Define your spiritual practice and commit to doing it daily!
 

Your spiritual practice will keep you grounded, centred in the understanding of who you really are, and unshakeable in the pursuit of your dreams. 

Make this time for yourself your number one priority. I highly recommend carving this time out first thing in the morning. If you leave it to fitting it in when you can, the greater the likelihood it won't happen. If you make your spiritual practice part of your daily routine, it becomes habitual and easier to do.

I have recommitted to my spiritual practice, and what that looks like for me is rolling out of bed and onto my yoga mat for some easy movement. Then some breath work, followed by meditation and prayer, then some spiritual writing where I converse with God. I don't look at my cell phone until I've completed my practice. Later in the day, I will also go for my nature walk. I like leaving this one to the afternoon as it helps break up my day and gets me away from sitting at my computer.

Once you are clear about what it looks like for you to be all in, then explore what is holding you back from committing to your vision. I had some more surprising discoveries when I did this work. I realized I have a deep-rooted fear that I will get so lost in my vision to bring my teachings into the world that it will drive a wedge between me and my husband. 

If you've read my book, you know this is something that has happened in the past when I was building my film agency. So the fear is very real. To move past this fear, I had to remind myself I am not the same person I was then. I have learned much over the years, and I am more equipped to recognize if I get off track. I now know how to avoid the pitfalls. And being committed to my spiritual practice is how I protect myself and what is most dear to me.

As I’ve shared before, identifying your fears is the first step to loosening the grip those fears hold on you. It's this understanding of self that helps you powerfully move forward. Your spiritual practice and the inward-looking journey that is part of that practice is the key to your self-awareness and understanding what may be holding you back. From there, your practice will lead you to find clarity of direction and the courage and confidence to step up and be all in.

Joyful Journeyer, how are you going to commit to creating your best life. What daily practices are you going to incorporate into your routine so you stay grounded and connected to your inner power? If you don’t have a spiritual practice right now, pick one thing and commit to doing it every day for just 5 or 10 minutes.

That could be meditating.
Journalling.
Reading scripture.
Doing Yoga.
Chanting.
Going for a mindful walk in nature.
Beading.
Doing wood work.
 

Understand that many activities can become spiritual practices when done with mindfulness and intention - and the intention I like the most is to connect with God. The key elements are being fully present in the moment, bringing a sense of awareness, and infusing the activity with purpose or meaning.

If you already have a spiritual practice, do you make it a priority every day? If not, commit to blocking out that time.
 

Making a commitment to yourself in this way, and honouring this commitment, is the first step to being all in so you can create the life you truly desire.

My wish for you and me both, is that we always remember to stay committed to ourselves and go all in with our dreams, our visions, and our lives.
 

If you need some support in creating a spiritual practice or guidance in defining your vision or identifying the self-commitments and actions to take, then reach out and let's explore a partnership through one of my coaching programs. And if you haven’t already, pick up a copy of my book, Whispers of the Soul. In it, you will learn The Wisdom Way Method to creating a life with meaning, well-being, and joy.