HJ: Many personal growth proponents advocate ‘doing whatever it takes’ to make your dreams a reality. But there is a better way. A more effortless way that keeps you in the flow instead of putting you at odds with it through the sheer force of will. Spiritual teacher Brandon West makes some important, subtle distinctions that make all the difference for practicing the art of letting go while still being productive and successful.
– Truth
Whatever It Takes
By Brandon West | Project Global Awakening
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Perhaps in life and during the process of manifestation our job isn’t to egoically force our dreams into existence by thinking that we should be somewhere where we are not and aborting the path we are on now in order to do “whatever it takes” to “make it happen”,as the saying so often goes.As I have come to understand the principle of divine timing and experience the pursuit and birth of my dreams in my own life, I have found that every time I make a decision from a place of feeling as if I am not where I am supposed to be, that decision is always wrong and brings me back to square one with nothing to show for my efforts. Another way to put this is that when we think we know where we should be and what we need to do in order to reach our goals and dreams which leads us to interfere by micromanaging all the details of our lives, the process of manifestation is aborted because we essentially cut ourselves off from the force that is doing the manifesting – intention – with our interference.Therefore in our lives perhaps what we need to do is accept our circumstances as they are, and adapt our own behavior within our current circumstances – especially our actions and how we use the time that we do have available to us – in order to manifest our dreams.
Doing Whatever It Takes
I always hear and have come to believe that we must do “whatever it takes” to reach our goals, and I agree with that statement, but I also believe that I have misunderstood it until now. Whatever it takes doesn’t mean to force our lives into submission and bully our circumstances into conforming to our will and wishes. That is the path of the ego which revels in control, not the path of higher consciousness which allows, let’s go, and trusts the universe to take care of the details while holding an inner vision from a space of inspiration which not only lights up the path ahead and attracts our dreams to us in the form of opportunities, but which results in spontaneous right action as well.
Therefore doing whatever it takes from this level of awareness and understanding means instead to do everything that we can to change our behavior, attitudes, actions, emotions, and thoughts in this moment, in order to align more with our dreams.
At this point in my life I still need to work for a living (work in the sense of a job that is not necessarily my passion) in order to pay for my living expenses. Thus doing whatever it takes is not about me quitting a job, because I need it to pay for my living expenses. Doing whatever it takes is about being completely self-reliant and independent. So for me it incorporates still working this job while at the same time dedicating myself to and making time for my passion thus building my dreams from the roots of my life now, while at the same time meditating, practicing yoga, finding time for play, moving towards a healthy diet, and practicing mindfulness and such each day. This is personally what doing whatever it takes means to me at this point in my life, in relation to my needs, my passions, my dreams, and my circumstances. All of these must be accepted completely in order for us to transform anything about ourselves and our lives.
This is the true meaning of doing whatever it takes because it incorporates being completely self-reliant, and doing what you need to joyfully and willingly, while at the same time aligning your actions and habits with your dreams, as opposed to simply giving up on your dreams and ignoring them because you are already busy and tired after work, and instead choosing to sit in front of the TV for a few hours.
This is the difference. And it is this difference which helps us to build strength – true strength – and power in every sense of the word that makes it possible to manifest our dreams. We as a species seem to have a knack for turning our back on reality by failing to accept this moment completely and being absolutely stuck on certain expectations of what our lives should look like and what our circumstances should be. And this is really an act of denying a part of ourselves because our lives are a reflection of our internal world. But the result will always be that our dreams will not be founded in reality – in our lives – which means that they will not be realized because we have failed to accept our current circumstances from which all growth and transformation must find its roots. Because our current circumstances – this moment – is the only thing we have.
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
Taking Responsibility
Instead of shunning any part of your life, take responsibility for it. Accept it completely, and if, for example, you need to work at a job that is not your absolute passion in order to pay the bills, do it willingly and joyfully from a high level of consciousness, and find the time for your true passion and calling whenever you have it.
Set goals for yourself and work towards these intentions and desires. Still live in this moment, but direct your thoughts and intentions accordingly so that you are certain of that which you desire and are choosing to manifest, and then allow it to manifest by releasing it and staying present in this moment.
In this way you will gradually shift your circumstances. Wayne Dyer bagged groceries for years while he put himself through school, and that ultimately enabled him to live his calling and his passion as a teacher at a university, and then eventually to teach a wider audience through his books. That kind of action truly inspires me, and I believe we should all learn from this example.
So many times I have seen myself thinking foolishly that I needed to be somewhere else than where I was because I was certain that I knew how to manifest my dreams for myself. As a result I would ignorantly abandon opportunities that came my way because I couldn’t see how it fit my life. But that was always an arrogant perspective which led to incorrect action, in hindsight, in that it never led me to where I wanted to go because I forgot to trust and allow the universe to be my guide.
Now I know that these opportunities are doorways towards our dreams which we have manifested for ourselves and which the universe has presented us with according to divine timing, which essentially means that opportunities will come when they are supposed and when we are ready for them, and not before regardless of what our thinks. And even if we cannot fathom with our tiny ego minds how these opportunities will lead us anywhere, or if they do not fit with our rigid expectations, sometimes we need to trust and we need to take a chance, because if it feels right it is worth it. And that feeling is our intuition, and it is the only thing that matters.
Your life is as it should be, and you are where you need to be. I know this is difficult to accept, but try to understand and acknowledge this fact. For it is a fact. And from this understanding and complete acceptance of where you are and who you are in this moment, then choose what you want, and who you want to be, and align with that future reality in this moment by behaving in accordance with it.
For your life now is your own creation. Everything around you is the product of your thoughts, emotions, and actions of yesterday. All that you are now is who you where in the past, and until you accept that, you will remain in these circumstances. And yet once you have moved towards accepting this fact, you will see that the only way to change anything is to be different now.
Act differently, feel differently, think differently, and become a different person. Find time to exercise and meditate, spend time reading, make better choices in terms of your diet, and most importantly, make time for your passion and your life purpose and do whatever it takes to do this every single day. And before you know it, opportunities will come your way that you never could have imagined, and you will find yourself being guided along an exhilarating and inspiring path of transformation as your dreams gradually evolve into your present experience as a result of you gradually evolving into the person you know you can be.
This is the true meaning of whatever it takes.
