I’ve seen them – I’ve even written them – those motivational snippets that tell you that you can do anything you want to do.

Sometimes I believe them. And then sometimes?

Well, sometimes not so much.

Creativity? Greatness? Joy? Killer abs? A new career or a new skill or a new everything or maybe even just a new hobby? Is this even possible in a world where it seems like not much is? Yeah, so is it realistic to think that we can pick up a brush, guitar, easy piano book, or exercise habit and actually do what we’ve never done before?

I do believe it, though. That really and truly we all carry within us the potential for joy, creativity and, yes, even greatness. But I also really and truly believe that a lot of the time we don’t see it, especially if we’re busy listening to the wrong voices, some of whom sound an awful lot like ourselves.

Edison said: “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Really? Well, wow. That’s a thought that’s quite hard to wrap the mind around.

Astound ourselves? With what? And how to know where to start?

Ummm….maybe just by showing up as who we are?

Maybe just by trusting dreams or the nudges of our imagination (who, by the way, has been trying to get our attention for quite a while now.)

Maybe it really is time to try something new.

But then, that voice shows up again and says, again: you can’t do it. And you really ought to be paying attention to more important things, like the laundry and the drip in the faucet, and not this silly idea of learning to play the viola.

Might I just suggest that you tell that voice, in the nicest possible way, to get lost?

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” (~Vincent van Gogh)

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” (~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Do you trust yourself? Trust that what you want to do is what you should do?

Are you ready to show up as who you are & give it a go?

Ready to paint that canvas, pluck the strings, learn the notes, lace the sneakers or rosin the bow?

Are you ready to trust you?

I really hope so.

~xo,
LuAnne

tweetables:

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” (~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” (~Vincent van Gogh)