How to find your bliss

Then, one day, I took a breath.  

And my bliss pretty much jumped up and bit me in the head.  It was there all along.  I didn’t see it because it meant taking risks, and I don’t like taking risks.  But when you meet your bliss, face to face, you can’t really look away again. 

So how do you find your bliss?  Here’s one DIY exercise that many of my clients have found helpful in discovering what it was they REALLY wanted to do, be, or have.

1. Understand that you need to get the externals out of the way first.  Sure, everyone wants gobs of money, a fancy new car, and to live in such-and-such a place.  But those things aren’t “bliss.”  They are the symbols of bliss. When you have the STATE you desire, you’ll move toward all of the externals that match your state.    

2. Identify the emotional states you’d feel if you had all of the “things” that represent those states to you.  If you want to travel, perhaps you want to feel freedom.  Or the idea of travel stimulates an intense curiosity.  Or something else altogether.  What’s the feeling you’re reaching for?  

3.  Identify any underlying emotional states you’d like to feel and what they mean to you.  Don’t edit.  “I want to feel respected” or “admired” or “confident” might seem superficial or overly self-involved to you, but BE HONEST. The theme will emerge if you stay with it.  

4.  Narrow it down to the 5 or 6 things that you’d enjoy feeling the MOST.  

5.  What activities help you FEEL those things?  Do them. 

You may not know it quite yet, but when you are engaged in the activities that bring you all of the states you most enjoy feeling, you will find ways to expand, amplify, and discover more opportunities to feel that way.