So we have these six mental faculties, and one of them is imagination. Now, if we can use our imagination to work ourselves up into a frenzy and abuse ourselves with worry, what else can we do imagination? Well, my friends, imagination is the fuel that makes the world go round. It is the fire of innovation. Imagination is the stuff that can light up our lives. Let’s get in touch with our imagination. Let’s get going.

Welcome to the Unlock Your Life podcast, a podcast for highly successful visionary women who want more out of life. If you feel that ache of unfulfillment in your soul, you’re in the right place sis. Join life mastery consultant Lori A. Harris as she teaches you how to stop living for others and finally put yourself first. Let’s dive into today’s show.

You know, our imaginations are the stuff of wonder. When we’re children, we easily tap into our imagination and come up with images and ideas of things that we would love to do, have, and experience. Some of us have imaginary friends. Some of us have wild imaginary playdates and do things in our minds that trigger joy and excitement and exploration.

As we get older, as adults, we’re told to tap that down, to be realistic, to get serious, to stop daydreaming. We are discouraged from using our imagination and invited into the world of what the adults in our lives called reality. The truth is that we can forge a relationship with our thoughts and our imagination that will help us create a life that we love in our physical reality, all coming from our imagination.

Our imagination is gonna call us forth to do three things. First it’s going to want us to be courageous. Next it’s going to want us to be curious. Finally our imagination is going to call us forth to exercise compassion. We have to be kind to ourselves in order to harness the power of our imagination. We have to be compassionate with ourselves in order to do things that might feel uneasy, to do things when we might feel like we might make a mistake, to get back up after we have made a mistake.

Compassion reminds us to cultivate empathy for ourselves and others because we want to get out of negative patterns that keep us from living a life that we love living. Each day is a new day. So we want to engage in being excited about our lives and do the things that light us up from day to day, moment by moment. We have but one life. Let’s go live it.

So if you find your imagination has compelled you to pursue something new, brand new, some new expression of yourself and is causing a little bit of anxiety, first know this is good news. This is to be celebrated. It indicates that you are in a place of growth. You are doing that thing that you’ve never done before. So we always want to be growing.

So if you’re experiencing a little bit of fear, a little bit of anxiety, tell yourself this is a good sign. This means I’m growing. So we’re going towards our discomfort. We’re moving outside our comfort zone, and that’s where the courage comes in.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the word should and being kind to ourselves in others when we decide about other people’s behaviors and allowing things to be what they are. Another problem with the word should is it often holds us back, holds us back from pursuing the things of our imagination, holds us back and tells us I should do x, y, or z because that’s what’s expected of me. That’s what’s prudent. That’s what everyone else is doing. That’s what’s rational.

But imagination sometimes takes you outside of what could appear irrational to other people, but it’s a calling calling you forth from with deep inside your belly. So when you’re following your own inner calling, it’s going to require some courage. It’s going to require to go beyond your comfort zone. It’s going to require curiosity to see hm, where might this lead me? I’m curious. I’m willing to give it a try. Again, it’s gonna require some self-compassion.

So this month we’re talking about cleaning up. We’re cleaning up old ways of thinking. We’re cleaning up old ways of being. We’re cleaning up our language and allowing ourselves to practice curiosity, practice imagination, practice taking action and marrying those actions with our heart’s desires. So what would you love? What would you love to be, do, have, or create? Go with courage, curiosity, and compassion. Allow yourself to soar.

So here’s an exercise for you. This is what I would love for you to do. I want you to take out a small piece of paper, a post-it, and index card. I want you to take that out and write three times in your life when you followed your gut, when you allowed yourself to imagine a bigger version of yourself and did the thing even though it was not apparent that it was going to be successful. Even though you were a little bit afraid. Even though you didn’t know how to predict the result.

Write down one, two, three times in your life when you successfully pursued something that started first in your imagination. Write that down and keep it in your wallet. Keep it so you remind yourself that this is the currency that matters. I have been successful before, and I will be successful again. The only currency that matters is this thing called my life. I’m willing to do the things that light me up using my imagination to move this thing called life forward. I do it with grace. I do it with courage. I do it with curiosity, and I do it with a dose of self-compassion.

This has been episode 42 of the ­Unlock Your Life podcast. I’m your host Lori Harris. I love that you’re listening to the podcast. If you’ve enjoyed it, I’d love it if you would share it with a friend. You can go to Apple podcast rate, follow, and review the show. It doesn’t have to be a five star review, but five star reviews are always accepted. In the future, remember, it’s your life. Make it a great one.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Unlock Your Life podcast. If you want more information on how you can transform your life and do it quickly, visit loriaharris.com. See it on the next episode of the Unlock Your Life podcast.