Follow your bliss was the phrase that I kept hearing inside my head after I was diagnosed with multiple health issues.
I remember feeling overwhelmed at the thought of a complete lifestyle change, so I instinctively clung on to the simplest idea that felt right to me.
I followed my bliss, along with lifestyle changes that helped me heal, and I’m going to share them with you.
1. Be Willing To Learn
Whether you’re on a healing journey, self-discovery journey, or anything that will require learning and change, be willing to learn.
Keep an open mind and stay curious about the process. You never know where insights might come from and lead to.
2. Overcome Your Fear
Fear is the four-letter word that stops us from changing and trying new things. It is natural and okay to feel this way. It is an emotion that is meant to protect you from danger and getting hurt.
But if you don’t overcome it, it becomes a form of resistance and can keep you from making progress and meaningful change.
The next time you feel fear, ask yourself, “What is the alternative if I don’t follow my dreams? What will happen if I don’t go after what I want?”
3. Celebrate Your Small Wins
Celebrating your wins, no matter how small, always feels good. I forget to do it myself sometimes because I’m so focused on getting results. I also feel like I’m bragging if I celebrate them.
But when you look back and celebrate the little things you accomplished, it actually helps you keep your momentum going and even injects a bit of joy and fun in your work.
4. Take Action
I’m the kind of person that is slow to take action because I think I’m protecting myself, which might be true to a small degree, but it generally stops me from making any meaningful change.
Taking action, no matter how small, helps the needle move forward and is the only way you can make real progress in your life.
5. Stop The Comparison Game
They say comparison is the thief of joy and it’s true. But it’s something we do all the time. We know it’s not good for us, yet we keep doing it.
I haven’t figured out why this trait is necessary but I do know that we can do it too much and it can affect our confidence and self-esteem.
As hard it as might be, stop the comparison game and remember that there’s no one else like you and you always have the capacity to be of value to others.
6. Make It Fun
When I hear the word fun, I always think back to my childhood and the things that children do. We lose that sense of fun as we get older and I think it’s a tragedy when we think of it as childish.
Think of all the ways you can add joy and fun to your life and your work. It helps you stay the course if you’re trying to change and gets you through the ups and downs that life can bring.
My Story Of Following My Bliss
I remember feeling pure bliss after waking up one morning. A few months prior, I gave birth to my firstborn son. The phrase, “follow your bliss“, was very meaningful to me in that moment.
Being a newbie parent, those four weeks were the hardest time of my life. I didn’t even think my husband and I were going to make it past the first week. But that morning, it just felt like I was living my ideal life and everything was in perfect alignment with my career and personal life.
We purchased a home on a 30 year mortgage soon after and then we had our second child. Our little family grew and so did our responsibilities and obligations. So it was easier to put myself on auto pilot.
Those moments of bliss became fewer and further between (and I didn’t even realize it), popping up once in a while when we stepped away from the proverbial hamster wheel.
As time went on I felt unsettled. But I was so busy with life that I didn’t have time to stop and think about it.
Fast forward 10 years. We had our third child. I had undiagnosed postpartum depression and generalized anxiety.
I also I had a very scary cancer diagnosis that turned my world upside down and I was forced to deal with all of the problems I accumulated over a lifetime.
Letting go
In addition to following my bliss, I let go of a lot of things, physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially, in order to heal.
I let go of trying to be in control all the time. I let go of trying to look happy and positive all the time even when I didn’t feel like it.
I let go of striving to look or be perfect all the time because it’s downright difficult. I let go of trying so hard to blend in all the time. I let go of looking for love outside of myself.
Loving myself
In order to have more moments of bliss, I had to love myself more. I used to think that I had to get everything I ever wanted in order to have a fulfilling life.
I realized that it needed to be more than just accumulating stuff and status. Love was the missing piece of the puzzle. When I decided to follow my bliss, my mental, emotional and spiritual health came into alignment. My life had a greater purpose and a clearer focus.
Learning how to love myself help me fill my cup and have enough left to give to others.
What Is Bliss?
Bliss, by definition, is “perfect happiness and great joy; to reach a state of perfect happiness, typically so as to be oblivious of everything else; spiritual joy or heavenly rapture; to experience or produce ecstasy or intense pleasure or satisfaction from or as if from a hallucinogenic drug or a mystical experience”.
There is also a feeling of peace that is intrinsically built within this emotion. The trifecta of joy, happiness, and peace makes you feel uplifted and tranquil, like you’re floating as high as a cloud.
At the same time, there is an absence of anger or fear and a knowing that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
What Does It Feel Like To Follow Your Bliss?
Having bliss feels like joy, happiness and peace all wrapped up in one. For me, it was a feeling of complete peace and joy inside because I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
It was also simply enjoying the moment. Not reminiscing about the past or planning for the future. Enjoying what’s in front of me right here and right now.
It can also be something you are very passionate about. You get excited and light up every time you hear or think about it. It feels natural, like you were born to do it.
Why Is It Important To Follow Your Bliss?
Joseph Campbell once said, “If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”
To illustrate Campbell’s point, I dreamed of becoming a writer but never thought I was good enough. I was also afraid of what people might think if they ever read my stuff.
I’m glad I made the leap of faith because I became a better writer over time and I never would have dreamed that people would be helped by the things I wrote about.
To follow your bliss is to follow a dream and trust that everything will work out for your greater good.
Conclusion
When I decided to follow my bliss, I admit that I was scared. I did not know where to begin or how to go about it. The thing that scared me the most was I did not know where my path would take me and I was going to be a big failure.
But then I asked myself, “What do I have to lose if I try?” It felt like an even greater loss than not having tried at all. I had to trust that everything I needed to succeed was already built within me. If I needed help and guidance, someone or something will come along at the perfect time to help me.
It is a big leap of faith to follow your bliss. You will not know where the path will lead you and that feels scary. Push that feeling aside and you will overcome one of the hardest obstacles.
Stay with that feeling of joy and happiness, especially when you know that something is right for you. We are here to enjoy the time we have and learn to be the best version of ourselves. So this way, we can make a difference in our world in our own special way.
More Ways To Follow Your Bliss
If you want to take a deeper dive into the process of following your bliss via Joseph Campbell’s ideas, read How to find your bliss when you don’t know where to start.
