This post was written for a while, but I never came around publishing it. Now is actually the perfect time since we’re all basically forced to practice stillness during this crisis. We’re all scared and restless right now, but it’s also a possibility that we can all use to listen and reflect. We normally never have this amount of time for ourselves, so we can all see this as a chance to see within us.
One of my favorite pastimes is getting to know exceptional women and their biographies and life advices through podcasts. While I’m on my way somewhere, cleaning or cooking and especially now, I’m listening to their incredible stories that are equally eye opening and motivating. A favorite of mine is the influencer podcast by Julie Solomon. That’s where I also found my girl crush Alyssa Rosenheck a while ago. She is such an impressive kind energizing woman and her story and way to see and live life inspired me on a very deep level. Not only in this podcast episode, but also on her blog and instagram she is talking about finding your inner purpose and living a fulfilled life. Right now she is a calming rock in this crazy world that is equally soothing and motivating for me everyday. One topic that is very dear to her heart is the importance of stillness – something I’m also very much believing in. That’s why I wanted to share her story and the pieces I have taken from listening to her with you today.
Disclosure : In the following text I often qoute Alyssa in her own words, since she describes the topic so perfectly and I didn’t want to change them. Please check out the episode to listen to her and visit her blog and instagram for more insights. Especially her daily instagram stories are gold!
Alyssa was like many of us thriving to build a life of success and safety in the corporate world. She worked her way up at two Fortune 100 companies and never really stopped for a vacation or rest. But sometimes the universe has its own ways to lead you into the right direction. For Alyssa it was when she was diagnosed with cancer that she had to stop and listen. Of course you never wish that something like this happens to you or your loved ones. But it was during this forced break that she finally made some self-reflexion and realized she wasn’t happy and she wasn’t on a path of love. Going back her life was driven by a place of fear and proving that she could make something out of herself. But the corporate world was drawning, sacrificing and stressful. She was basically in survival mode, working on and on without stopping, which was not healthy. Due to her sickness she finally took the time to heal, to held space in her heart and evaluate what she wanted her purpose to be and life to look like.
She says that there are two forms of success and we live in a society where success is perpetuated by external success. By a career at a prestigious company, a car or what other people think success looks like. Instead we should find that success inside and strive to be driven by internal fulfillment. We need to find our personal authentic internal success to embrace our purpose in life. We often wait for our external circumstances to change to make the step into our own story, but that’s not how it works. We need to make that change from within and one way to do that is to create stillness. We need to make pause and look within on where this power lies. Sadly stillness is not something our culture rewards and making a break to listen sounds very daunting to many people. But we can’t all wait until we’re sick or broken apart. There is a reason that mental health issues increase in these times.
It’s important to stop and take time for yourself. Stillness speaks to you! Otherwise your head is so full and your energy is used for survival mode. You can’t clear your head and truly find out and feel what you’re made for. You need to listen to your gut on what that little voice whispers and find the little moments of joy that connect you to who you really are. I already wrote about this topic in this post here. Take the time to think about what drives you and makes you excited about life. What creates stillness for you? When you start saying yes to yourself and start following your passion that’s when you connect to your purpose and a new world opens up.
For Alyssa the little voice whispered go buy a camera. She was craving creativity and realized her stillness and joy came from being surrounded by art. Without any experience she started taking pictures and teached herself how to use the camera. When she found her passion and followed her inner voice more opportunities began to rise and everything fell into place. It helped her through cancer and healed her past scars of not knowing her path. It even brought her to the realization of dreams she never knew could happen. Today she is a well known photographer and stylist for architectural and interior projects and found her true creative purpose. From following her heart she build the life she was always meant to live. A life full of love, happiness and peace.
While this all seams so big and like you just don’t know where to begin to find your inner stillness – start small and do what you can. Create stillness in order to listen to what you really feel your true self is and what sparks joy. Not what circumstances or other people tell you. And when you find the direction teach yourself how to get there and definitely expect failures and mistakes on the way. But if it feels good and you know it’s right, you won’t stop following your heart. You’ll make yourself vulnerable, however you need to believe in yourself, embrace your mistakes and make it a priority to put your creativity out there. We all have unique gifts to share with the world and there is a place for you. If it scares you, that’s a good sign that you’re heading into the right direction. Work through that fear and make a choice. Share your passion with the world and inspire communities of acceptance and understanding and realness.
And even if there’s not a huge evaluation needed in your life right now, it’s also important to check in with yourself on a regular basis. For some it’s every few weeks and for some it’s at the end of every day. Stress always creeps its way into our lifes and this is when things get out of control. Stress is toxic and the killer of living an intentional present life. Unplug and find balance to the pace of time and life. Create stillness in order to be creative and practise self care. Listen to see what’s working for you and what‘s not and be present. For Alyssa it’s a morning, afternoon and evening check-in that keeps her in an authentic creative environment internally. It’s more about managing your energy than your time. Find your intention for why you’re doing a certain task in order for it to not feel like stress but joy. Find the things that bring you energy and repeat them and lastly find a place and time for self-reflexion on the positive and negative events of your day. Alyssa describes her three step daily ritual perfectly on her blog and I think everyone can find the time to practise some inner research. Finally don’t focus on what is not working, but what is working for you, what brings you joy and energy and be grateful for those things.
Listening to Alyssa’s story on how she build this life full of love and happiness from a place of fear and hurt really touched me and definitely opened up a whole new world for me. I’m certain we’re all able to change something within us and find some stillness in our lifes. She is also writing a book at the moment that I can’t wait to read. Please also do yourself a favor and follow her daily insta storiesthat are so real, motivating and positive. And don’t forget to listen to more episodes of the influencer podcast for touching interviews with exceptional women that will resonate with you and give you so much clarity. I’m thankful for them speaking up about these topics, so that we can understand each other better and allow us to pause and exist. We’re all in this together and we can make the world a better place.