I Had An Idea
What if the next version of your life doesn’t have to be born from what went wrong - but from what suddenly feels wonderfully, deliciously right?
What if this final quarter of 2026, (yes, can you imagine??????) was a wild adventure of discovery and flying forward? What if, after the shockingly hot summer we had and the cooler, more vibrant energy arrives, we get to look at life as an opportunity to keep discovering? I have said more than once I am going to fully live this life, not survive it. If I may say so – I have! Check out my website if you need details: https://askdrdorothy.com/ Yet there is still so much more living to do – so much more discovering of who I fully am and what this glorious world has to offer. The same applies to you…….
We tend to think that by a certain age we should know who we are.
Is that 50? 60? 70? 80? What a crazy idea! Perhaps that is completely backwards. Maybe one of the great privileges of getting older is discovering parts of ourselves we never had the freedom, courage, time - or audacity - to meet before. Most of us have spent so much time doing things “right” not “rattling the boat” not “making waves” and theoretically fitting in to show our value. At some point, the message is screw it, I want to live my life and not wait until I’m 90 to take permission to start.
The hard part of that decision is where do you begin?
What does it look like? When you are no longer focusing on kids, or getting a career going, you realize there is so much life to live and every year there is less and less time and/or opportunity to do it. So… It’s time to get going…
Not in the sentimental “make every moment count” way. More provocative: What are you saving yourself for? The trip you’d love to take? The outrageous idea? The new business? The red dress? The perfect body? That book you’re dying to read? The afternoon doing absolutely nothing? The conversation you have been wanting to have? Life isn’t what comes next. This is it! Take the time. Hold your breath and jump into that next adventure – that next challenge – and that next opportunity to expand yourself through experiences. There is no such thing as “too big” or “too small.”
Sometimes starting with the small thing and realizing no one died, no one quit, no one called the cops, is the shock you need to see that your fears, or “correctness” was all made up and they simply gave you permission to stay still and not risk growing, expanding, and truly living. Once the smallest challenge is met, then move on to the next biggest thing. If you’ve got the audacity already – and you just needed permission – GO FOR IT – jump into the biggest dream you got.
Recognize that life is a gift. We never know when illness, loss, death, or even a natural disaster will show up, so go now. Live outrageously, whatever that means to you. Live life as if it is a gift you have been given and the gift you get to define. So much of the illness I see in leaders, so much of the depression, and experiences of being lost in their own lives is a byproduct of never really getting to live the life they are creating. It is the illusion that they are doing this for others – when in fact those choices are giving them permission to never truly show up in their own lives. It’s a form of playing it safe even when it feels so terribly risky and/or tenuous.
As always, if you need help taking that risk, living that life, or even looking at it, just call. I’m here to walk beside you while showing you the way.
