A meaningful existence is more than just a dream, it is a profound way of life. It is achieved not by chasing rainbows, rather by walking slowly in the rain and waiting patiently for the sun to emerge from behind a cloud to gift you with a glimpse of a wondrous sight.

We all travel at different speeds through life, depending on our intensity and intent. Fast paced activities may produce an adrenaline rush, a high that lasts moments to mere seconds, but the flame dies quickly, like a match in that rain you should be slowly walking through. Your heart will smile the biggest from fond moments of peace, solitude, friendships and everlasting love – events that take place over months and years.

Drive too fast and the landscape will undoubtedly fly by. You may not even see the brilliant blue chicory flowers a few feet from the side of the road or the ambrosia grape-hyacinths in all of their three inch glory. The big picture is always visible, the details are lost in the dust. Admire and give full attention to the unfurling of leaves in the spring, the growth rings of better years and slower ones, the morning dew underneath your bare feet and the juicy plums that endured the scorching summer sun.

Nature seems to be in no hurry, so why are we?

Slow down and start simplifying your life in a myriad of ways. Approach it from multiple fronts to unleash your true happiness (that is itching to escape) from within.

• eat real food – no artificial flavorings or preservatives here, just down to earth home-cooked meals that can and should be shared with family and friends
• be grateful – give thanks for what you have, no matter how little, keeping in mind that owning few possessions may induce acts of enlightenment
• listen – to the person conversing with you, they really want you to hear what they have to say
• look – into the eyes of people, it is not our virtue to stare blindly across the landscape, we must fine tune our ability to see(k) if we would like to understand
• feel – with both your heart and your hands, hugging has been proven to bring about a sense of joy along with lightness of the heart
• move – travel with a purpose, whether it is down the hall to your kitchen for a steaming mug of tea or halfway across the world to spend a month with strangers who will in turn become part of your family
• walk – wherever your feet may take you, creative energies are often found while out on a stroll, walking is wonderful for both your health and the earth – it may be the simplest form of exercise possible
• meditate – and give yourself the much needed time to think in quiet, without a drop of white noise, only the fir trees at your back and with the stars in your eyes

Move in such a way that your actions become the very things that define you. Deepen your awareness and contemplate, the answers will come with time.

If you have time, then the whole world is at your fingertips – travel slowly and enrich your life with experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.

About the Author

Cheryl Magyar is a sustainable life designer who writes about living a simple life at home and away. Her thoughts are cast weekly on handcraftedtravellers.com, a blog lovingly shared with her poetic husband, you can also visit their Facebook page for more inspirations of happiness and simplicity.

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I am a good example of how a healthy person can get adversely affected by simply having an internal conflict between himself and his life. Briefly, there was a time when I seemingly had it all. A well paying job, a big house and all the other goodies that go along with focusing purely on the material aspects of life. If you took a snapshot of my life, you’d see a career man living high on life.

The truth however was just the opposite. In reality, I couldn’t stand my life. I hated every single dreaded moment of my job. I despised the shallowness of my miserable existence. I felt that I was living a life devoid of any purpose, meaning or happiness. What’s worst is that I saw no way to change any part of it. My house was over mortgaged, I was used to maintaining a lifestyle that only slaving 60 hours a week could support.

This internal conflict was literally making me sick. I was depressed, agitated and fatigued. I stopped taking care of myself and was actually trying to mistreat myself so as to find some tangible reason to stop what I was doing. Subconsciously, I wanted to be sick so I could get off of this roller coaster ride which was spiraling down and carrying me along with it. I was trapped with no seeming way out.

Getting out of bed became a chore. I slept most of the time when I wasn’t working or loathing. I had lost all desire for any external activities. It was work and sleep, work and sleep, over and over, just one long day that never seemed to end.

Every fiber in my body cried for salvation. It took much personal insight and retrospect to snap out of my self destructive life. To start rebuilding the life that I was meant to have. Consider this, as long as you stay out of balance with your true purpose, you will remain deeply dissatisfied with the direction your life is taking. This can manifest into fatigue, sickness and destructive behaviour.

If I can leave you with but only one message, let it be this: No matter how deeply you are involved in your lifestyle, no matter how difficult it seems to make any changes, you must take the necessary steps to save yourself. Life is a precious gift that can not be wasted on living in misery. Denying to yourself the true meaning of your life, can make you tired, sick and unhappy. You must open yourself up to your destiny and your potential.

Here is what you can do. Take an honest look at your life. Assess which parts of your life make you feel tired or depressed. These may be something fairly small, such as a particular part of your job description, or something very significant such as your career as a whole. These are all key issues. Once they’re isolated, you should experience some degree of relief simply by consciously understanding them.

The next step is to take action. It doesn’t have to be something drastic like quitting your job the next day and wandering the world with nothing but a backpack to your name. These could be small, consistent steps that will gradually correct your life’s direction. We all have responsibilities and commitments. We can not drop them overnight. It will take planning and sacrifice, but they can be incorporated into your life in a natural way to harmonize with your goals.

With each step that you take in the right direction, you will experience emotional discharge, confirming that you’re on the right path. Daily planning of the life you want, will also give you satisfaction of accomplishment, purpose, and yes, energy. Changing the direction of your life isn’t easy. It’s filled with events that will challenge you and your resolve. It requires vision and dedication. Most of all it requires the desire to grow and evolve as a human being. But isn’t that what it’s all about?

Live well. Vlad

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Simply put, the general purpose is to achieve self awareness. The self awareness leads to self liberation. Liberation from the illusion that we’re all separate beings. That everything is separate from everything else. Because in essence, we are all one and the same. Now it‘s one thing to believe, hypothesise or rationalize about this concept, and entirely different to experience it first hand. This experience only comes from self awareness.

On the individual level, we all have our unique purpose that we’re destined to experience. This experience is exactly what’s required at this time in our lives, based on the level of our spiritual evolution. Our personal spiritual roadmap if you will. The irony of this, is that many of us spend lifetimes, resisting this purpose. We find reasons for putting it off, justifying why we aren’t ready to face it. We follow every possible scenario, instead of the one that we were meant to follow.

This creates two main issues. The first and the obvious one is that it holds us back from evolving further. It keeps us at an idle, chasing our tails while moving nowhere. The second issue is that resisting our destiny creates various internal and external conflicts in our lives. You know, when something just doesn’t feel right. When we know that there is more to life, the nagging feeling that this isn’t the life you were meant to have, etc. Well, it’s all true!

There are many factors why people stray from their destiny. These are social and peer pressures, economic and financial decisions, and so on. In essence we place ourselves in the position of self betrayal. Betraying our birthright to follow our destiny. This self-betrayal often leads to unhappiness, depression, insecurities, illnesses, substance abuse, and so on. It is detrimental to our well being.

Re-aligning ourselves with destiny requires discovering and following our passion. It’s often a challenging process, one that’s full of sacrifice and self discovery. But this is a good thing! It rewards us with happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction. Also, we are much more likely to realise our full potential once we’re on this path. Reaching our full potential is only possible while living a purpose filled life. The life that we were destined to live.

So now that we’ve established the relationship between our potential and passion, let’s take it one step further. I will go out on a limb to say that you already know what your passion in life is. You may not have all of the details worked out, but you know quite well what you like and dislike about your life. The goal is to consciously identify the key points of your preferences. Separate activities, events, places and people that make you feel complete and happy, from those that do not.

In essence, by identifying and following that which gives you joy, you’re placing your life in alignment with your purpose. And that leads you to your destiny. There are other factors involved, such as practicing activities that serve and help other people. Spreading positive energy, love and compassion in your daily lives. If you think this is an overly simplified description, you are right. But the truth need not to be complicated. It is the simplest answer that’s most often the correct one.

And when you follow your passion, you will be at the apex of your game. You will be able to reach your full potential in everything that you choose to do. Life will become more meaningful and you will find that you’re more enthusiastic and satisfied from everything you attempt. This is simply impossible to achieve, if you’re denying yourself your life’s purpose. This is why potential is a derivative of purpose.

You can now use this information to choose which direction to take. You can either shelve it, or make a point to embark on a course of discovery of the self, and of your life’s purpose. I can guarantee that if you do nothing, nothing will happen in return. I can also promise that whatever small steps you’re willing to take towards finding your passion, will reward you well beyond your expectations!

Live well, Vlad

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Once upon the time, there were two scientists. They were both very knowledgeable in their field. Over the years, they learned a great deal, and taught at Universities so others could learn from them. Together, they made lot’s of scientific discoveries, and written many important books filled with scientific analysis and knowledge.

They lived long, productive lives filled with scientific explorations and breakthroughs. One day, one of the scientist became ill. He learned that he didn’t have long to live. As he was lying on his deathbed he summoned his scientist friend. He then asked him: “All of our lives we were concerned with what we know. But now, I have to ask – what do you believe?”

This story demonstrates the power of belief. And imagination is belief’s close cousin. What makes imagination so powerful you say? The answer is, it transcends knowledge. It is beyond the tangible and the explainable. Another notable quality of imagination is that it is unlimited. More accurately, it is only restricted by the limits that you and I set ourselves.

Dare to dream again

Why be afraid to imagine and dream? What is it that changed in you from when you were young? When did imagination become impractical? Do yourself a favor and remember what it was like to imagine, to live in wonder. To believe in magic, to be excited just to be alive in each moment. Dare to dream again. Dare to let imagination back into your life.

When you are guided only by that which is factual, you’re closing the doors on the vast opportunities that are available to you. Our imagination sets manifestation into motion. Indeed, if you can think it, you can achieve it. We manifest based on what we conceive to be true. What we believe. That belief which is based in knowledge, is inherently limited by the data it contains. Belief based on imagination can soar above any information, past all of the restrictions.

Imagination aligned with destiny

There is a good reason why we are capable of imagination. Imagination is rooted in our life’s purpose. Given the proper attention, it helps us to align ourselves with destiny. Imagination is a recollection of the cosmic consciousness. It serves as a reminder to us, of who we are and what we’re capable of. Lifetime after lifetime. The bird’s eye view, if you will. Without it, we would be confined to the information gathered during the comparatively limited span of this life.

Imagination will point you at your destiny. Pursuing your destiny will bring you to a purpose-filled life. A purpose which defines you, and the actions that you take. Nevermind the pre confined notions that you must act in the way that’s considered acceptable by your peers, your family members or the society itself. Your life and its purpose belong to no-one else but you. So follow your destiny.

In Conclusion

Personally, I like to think, the scientist’s answer to his friend was: “I believe in the destiny that brought us together, the same destiny that now allows us to question our deepest beliefs, regardless if they are rooted in science or imagination…” Of course it doesn’t really matter what his answer was. What’s yours?

Live well. Vlad

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Ever since I can remember, I was a dreamer. I grew up pretty much like any other kid. But in my mind, I dreamed big dreams, I went on wild adventures, and explored exotic lands. Many times I found myself daydreaming at school, with my gaze outside the window, far off in the Pacific Ocean’s horizon. Only to be reminded of “reality” by my teacher’s stern voice.

As I got older, my dreams were abruptly replaced by practical, socially accepted decisions. I gave up on my childhood dreams and aspirations trusting that socially acceptable rules of conduct were going to bring me closer to my goals. But if you asked me what those goals were, I couldn’t specifically tell you at the time.

As time progressed, I became an adult. I had a career and a vague understanding of what I wanted in life. What I thought I wanted was simply happiness. I didn’t associate happiness with having a purpose, or with greater understanding of myself. That understanding came later, evolving from pain, anger and misery. But it took some time.

Be it the nature of life itself, or the individual journey that we’re on, but all revelations come with a price. We must earn them first, as I did. Finding myself disillusioned by the meaningless life I was living, hating my jobs, feeling trapped and abandoned by my Higher Power, I suffered. Suffered enough, to question myself and my life. Questioned my values and the very reality of my existence.

They say suffering leads to enlightenment. I think that mine is a work in progress. But I can tell you that I gradually understood that in order to be happy in life, you must listen to, and trust that inner voice you’ve heard, ever since you were a child. Trust that childlike wonder that our society is trying so hard to keep down. Trust your intuition, believe in your dreams, acknowledge your power.

Don’t take this lightly, you are a powerful being. In fact, you’re so powerful, that you have the power to change yourself. You have the power to change your life. And it all starts by finding your destiny. Find your destiny, find your life’s meaning and you will find your passion.

I did. I realized that what I loved to do, was to dream. I didn’t even have to accomplish all of my dreams, but I could write and share them with others. I could inspire people not to be afraid to follow their own dreams and their own passions.

How to find passion

But enough about me. Finding your passion in life consists of two main parts. Understanding what your purpose in life is, and understanding why that is your purpose.

What is your purpose

Here is a pretty simple answer to a complex question. Obviously, the reason you enjoy doing the things you enjoy, is because they make you feel great. They give you satisfaction. And the main reason they gives you satisfaction, is because doing them, aligns your actions with the Divine Plan.

The Universe works according to certain laws. These laws govern everything and everyone in the world, including you. This is the Divine Plan. The closer you align yourself and your actions with this Plan, the greater are your chances of living a fulfilling, meaningful life. The opposite also holds true, the further removed you are from the Plan, the longer it will take you to find your purpose and passion.

Why is it your purpose

It is your purpose because this is what you must experience in this life in order to bring you closer to your self-realization. Based on your individual destiny, or karma. It’s about observing, about learning from the good and from the bad experiences. It’s about evolving into something greater than yourself. And you will get there eventually. But the closer you align yourself with the will of the Creator, the faster you will get there. I promise.

There is one condition to this principle. Your chosen purpose must in some way serve others. That’s the rule. It can not be solely for your personal gratification, or it won’t go well. In fact, it may end up quite detrimental in the long run. But if it gives you satisfaction and fulfillment, and it serves others as well, then you’re doing the right thing. So determine what you enjoy (simple technique for finding passion appears below), and go for it.

In Conclusion (The simple technique)

Get out a piece of paper and start writing down all of those things that bring a smile to your face. Those things that made you happy in the past. Those places and those circumstances. Once you have a list in front of you, re-read it, add to it, or take away until you’ve found that thing that makes the most sense. Chances are, you’ve found your life’s passion. Now go for it. It will not be easy, but it’s worth it!

Live well. Vlad

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Where is love? And why is everyone always searching so frantically for it? From trying to receive it through your kids, to your parents, to your partner, to your imagined fantasies that play on an endless tape in your head, and so on. Sometimes it may seem hopeless that we will never find it.

It seems as if we are always trying to search for this impulse that is secretly hiding within us and always has been. It is as if we are going through this maze in the outside world and never realize that it sometimes leads to a dead end or a vicious cycle that we continuously choose over and over again – in these moments it might be helpful to awaken to the fact that we are on the wrong path, for the love we need to connect to is actually within us.

It is the maze within us that we must embark on, rather than solely focusing on the labyrinth in our outside world (the relationship that isn’t working, the boss who is so mean to us, our best friend who doesn’t understand us, etc). The confusion of the labyrinth outside of us is simply a reflection of our confusion inside of us.

Within us the maze is difficult and challenging at times as well, but this is the path that is truly worth walking on. For it is the one that leads us back to where our home lies, where our love is waiting. It allows us to understand why we do or think certain things and how sometimes our defenses are not helping us anymore but instead are hindering us to feel and accept love.

Remember when we were very young and everything seemed so effortless and easy? It was and you know why? We were always connected to this evolutionary impulse of love – there was no other way of living because we inherently knew we came directly from our Source and realized this truth so clearly.

But as we grew and started listening to everyone around us telling us how to live and what to do to reach ‘success’ and gain happiness, we gut-wrenchingly left our Truth behind for the hope that we would be accepted by these other people around us. We want so desperately to find love with them but at what cost? The cost of losing the love within us?

I believe if we were all connected to that piece within ourselves then we could easily connect through this abundance of love among us all. But when we give it up for the search of love only outside of us, we seem to lose our way and find ourselves lost within and among each other. I’m not saying we cannot find love outside of us – but perhaps the love will be easier to attract if we are already filled with the love within us first.

Sometimes we get married in hopes of finding that one person in the world that will give up everything just to make us happy and fill us up with all that love that we chose to leave behind when we were younger. And when it doesn’t work, we then choose to get mad at them as if it is their fault that we cannot feel the love. We start to doubt if we are even worthy of this love anymore. We think perhaps it was never ours to begin with and we let the outside maze of life convince us that what we have is what we deserve.

But no! We are not to settle for this mediocrity for there is a wonderful and beautiful heaven within us, just waiting to be found. We need to reconnect to our Source as we did when we were children. If we stop now, we lose everything. We lose hope, we lose Light, we lose each other, we lose our humanity, we lose Love. By lose I mean we lose the opportunity to uncovering it all within us – for none of these are truly lost for they are our Truth.

This journey (as most) can only be taken at one step at a time, so find the courage in this moment to take the step you need to begin to unravel the maze within you. Simply follow the impulse you did as a child – follow your inner guide to show you where the open doors are or how to unlock the doors that seem so shut.

The key is in the present moment and accepting – without judgment – whatever you find here: if it is sadness, allow yourself to feel the sadness; if it is anger, allow yourself to express your anger in a healthy way; if it is confusion, allow yourself to accept the confusion rather than immediately wanting to get rid of it and wanting clarity instead; if it is joy, allow yourself to feel the joy running through you without trying to grasp it forever or focusing on the fear of losing it, and so on. Follow your energy to discover your authenticity and freedom in the moment. Arrive to the Now and allow your Self to guide you to your immutable Truth: Love.

About the Author

Sheila passionately believes in everyone’s ability to open their hearts and heal their hurts in order to discover and share their Light. She follows this passion as a psycho-spiritual therapist and wishes to help people on their journey of self-discovery. Learn more about her at www.lookingwithintherapy.com

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We fear failure because we don’t believe that we can succeed. Deep down we may even not want to succeed. Often, this is because we subconsciously know that our actions are not aligned with our true purpose. We question our motives and the very philosophy of our life. We are not being honest with ourselves.

The people who believe they are moving toward their destiny, have been known to overcome insurmountable odds to achieve their goals. When you understand your purpose, and are moving toward it, it doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail at this particular time, because you know that in the end you are doing the right thing.

To reach that point, you must be brutally honest with yourself. You must go out on a limb to question your life. To discover your purpose.

Trust Your Intuition

Discovering your life’s purpose is everything. It’s terrifying and magnificent. It’s a rebirth. It’s your ultimate understanding of yourself. And it’s never too late. When you know what your likes and dislikes are, you already have an idea of your purpose. Of what your life’s meaning may be. The trick is not to give up on who you are.

It’s Your Life

You may have a comfortable life. You are settled in, and you feel safe. Your life rotates around a predetermined set of rules. You do what’s expected of you, you don’t disappoint your loved ones and your colleagues.

But you may have noticed that something is lacking in your life. The things that made you happy in the past don’t bring joy to your heart anymore. The colors aren’t as bright, the music doesn’t stir the spirit, and your heart doesn’t soar each morning to greet the new day.

Your Challenge

If that’s you, I challenge you to question your life. I challenge you to set aside the conventional, the ordinary and the mundane. I challenge you to look back at your life and remember what happiness meant to you in the past. To remember the dreams and inspirations you once held dear.

In the movie Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo: “You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

Here what’s going to happen. You will either brush this off and go on with your life, or you will get out of your comfort zone and embark on a great adventure. You’ll either continue living an ordinary life, or you will realize that life is a precious gift not to be wasted.

When you live a purpose filled life, nothing can derail you. Even bad days don’t seem so bad. Destiny itself paves the way for you to follow. Following your true purpose gives everything you do meaning. It makes your life right. You can accomplish things that you never thought were possible. You are supported by a pair of invisible wings. All you’ve got to do is to make up your mind.

In Conclusion

Let’s face it, failure is a part of life. There is nothing we can do about it. In fact at times, failure is life’s natural correction process. It may be the Higher Power telling you that perhaps you must still understand or accept something before you can move on. But when you believe, when you know who you are and what your purpose is, then even if and when you do fail, you’ll never be afraid.

Live well. Vlad

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Working for multinational telecommunication company had been my main goal for a while, and one fine day I was actually hired. When I got my dream job my life had completely new twist. Our company was launching in a new country, which meant that everything was completely crazy, extremely stressful and terribly fast. I was facing a big challenge and was entirely absorbed by the job, which kind of eliminated all other aspects of my life.

Paying high price for the achievement

I was coming home by the time my son had to go to bed. I had no time for my husband since I continued working from home and often worked on weekends. The mobile phone had become my enemy since it had 50 daily incoming and about 25 outgoing calls. It rang until almost midnight and annoyed me and my family. I had become a zombie, who did not enjoy life because life passed her by. But as all zombies, I was brainwashed and thought that it was temporary and soon things would get better.

Knowing that it’s time to quit

The first time I signed my resignation was when my son hugged me late in the evening when I came home, started weeping and asked me to ”tell the boss that you are out”. The resignation brought forward lots of promises, most important of which was ‘‘hiring someone to share my workload”.

I signed my second resignation almost a year later from the first one and there was not even a job announcement for that ”someone”. By that time the stress and frequent nervous situations made me taking herbal pills, which helped me in the beginning, but not that much thereafter.

Finding out what you don’t want anymore

Finally that long-awaited ”someone” was hired and it seemed that I got back to the more or less balanced life. But something had happened inside me meanwhile and the dream job became just a job, the enthusiasm left me and there was no motivation anymore.

I felt that my expectations were killed and I had nothing to look forward to. My week mornings were tough, just from the thought that I had to go to work. My office hours were boring just because I knew that whether the project is completed well or not did not matter anymore, and I always had the feeling that I should do something else instead.

My life values and the job were no longer compatible. Maybe it was because deep inside I felt that this job had no value anymore. The corporate job cannibalized everything I wanted to do with my life. It left no time for my personal life and simple life pleasures. And what is more important it killed my dreams.

My creative and independent nature was waking up and making me feel trapped. I longed for freedom. There was a strong desire to follow my passion and to invest all the time and energy to what I love, as opposed to the prosperity of a breathless brand.

Can’t tell why exactly, but back then I felt that I had no choice. I thought that it would be irresponsible to give up the income. To me the move would be demonstration of egoism. I felt miserable and depressed knowing that things most probably won’t change. In short, I was merely existing and not living anymore.

Listening to the inner voice

But no matter what, my inner voice was talking to me all the time. It told me that ”there is a choice”, that I had to ”follow my dreams”, that ”being egoistic is OK sometimes” and that ”we have only one life to live”. It took me quite a while to trust my inner voice, which told that I should have listened to my son and quit with the first resignation.

It took a long time to realize what I would like to do with my life, but it took much more to get the courage to make the first step. Finally I signed the third, and final resignation.

Getting happiness through change

After two and half years I finally became free. The most important thing the job taught me was appreciating the free time, and the simple things in life. Maybe I would not be happy if I did not have that job, because it somehow led me to where I am now.

Now I can do what I like most – write. Now I do not have to hurry, I don’t feel guilty switching off my mobile and I don’t stress out (well, maybe I do in very rare occasions☺). I notice small, nice things on the streets, I have a smile and music for my mornings, and I know how it feels to have a happy family.

I now read, learn and grow – both spiritually and emotionally. I feel complete and am in balance with myself. I’m back to the kitchen, back to the gym, back to my blog and back to all those nice things, which are still going to happen… Now I am together with the inspiration, the muse, the creativity and the freedom – making new plans, creating new writings and chasing new dreams.

Remembering what’s important

Before setting goals make sure that it’s what you really want. Trust yourself and don’t ignore your inner voice. When things get rough, it will whisper the right answer to you!

About the Author

Ani Chibukhchyan has left her 10+ year career behind and is in the transitional period of transforming her writings from a hobby into a lifestyle. Her blog Life Probabilities is about increasing possibilities of fulfillment, happiness and success in life. Ani is also the author of Emotional Moments – book of short stories about life.

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Are you interested in a permanent state of happiness? Is that even possible? Does it even exist? Earlier in my life, I remember experiencing moments of happiness, followed by feelings of sadness, and even slight depression. Often, opposite emotions were caused by the same source, such as a relationship, or even a reaction to something that happened at work. No matter how much I desired to be permanently happy, I was unsuccessful.

I read books, studied meditation and consulted career coaches. But no single source or practice gave me the enlightenment I was seeking. During the time of my greatest desperation however, my efforts were finally rewarded, as you can read about in “my story”. My realization brought me closer to understanding myself and the world in which I lived.

I finally understood, that what I thought made me happy, was actually nothing more but fillers. It was a patch-up job that I’ve created to help myself keep going. It wasn’t a permanent solution. It couldn’t have been! Because anything that’s outside of us, is just an illusion. If you’re interested in finding the state of permanent happiness, then you have to start by taking a closer look within yourself.

Discover Yourself

I want to emphasize that true, lasting happiness is something that we as humans crave from the very beginning of our lives. What’s important to realize, is that happiness is synonymous with self-discovery. That’s right, if you want to be happy, you must find out who you are. However it’s easier said than done. Here’s why; All of our life, we’re conditioned to forget who we really are.

We are born into this world, possessing all of the necessary knowledge to follow our purpose. Everyone has a purpose. I repeat, absolutely everyone has a purpose in this life. This purpose is the reason we are here. But guess what? Our purpose becomes obscured by our exposure to the environment and the external elements which surround us from birth. I am referring to the society, our families and culture.

Don’t get me wrong, I have respect for just about everyone and everything. But rarely does our environment help us get to our destiny. It may be because part of our purpose is to fight for it, to persevere, to work out our karma. Whatever the reason maybe, it’s what we must do, it’s a part of the process. And through this process, we become stronger.

Childhood Dreams

When you were young, you had an inspiration to become something important. You enjoyed certain activities because they made you feel good. You felt comfortable in certain places, while hated others. These clues from your youth, can give you important insights about yourself. They offer answers to who you were meant to be and what you were meant to do. Remember how clear it was to you then, before time washed it away?

Look back and identify what made you happy as a child. Not necessarily who you wanted to become, more importantly, how it made you feel. For example, you don’t have to be a doctor to heal people. You don’t have to become a fireman to save people. It’s your intent to heal and save that’s what matters the most. It’s your desire to make a difference, to make someone happy that tells you what’s most important to you.

And that’s where happiness comes from. The feeling you had as a child, the desire to make a difference in other’s lives. The satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’re following your life’s purpose. And when you’re doing that, even the bad days don’t seem so bad. When you’re following your destiny, you’re playing out your role in life to its fullest.

In Conclusion

It’s a work in progress. In other words, just by knowing what your purpose is, you’re already greatly enhancing your life’s experience. The road doesn’t have to be smooth or easy. It just has to have a meaning, to be understood. Your purpose must shine through, leading you ahead. It’s your beacon, your guiding light. And even if you don’t reach it in this life, you will be that much closer to it. Your life’s experience will be that much more satisfying and rewarding. And isn’t that what happiness is all about?

Live well. Vlad

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About five years ago I took my MBTI® personality assessment. Didn’t expect much, but it was dead on! Not only did it give me an insight into my own personality, something that I’ve sensed all of my life but was unable to define, but also showed me how I interacted with others. In fact it was so accurate, and I was so impressed with it, that I became a Certified MBTI® Practitioner. This means that I can administer the MBTI® assessment and assist with interpretation of the results.

MBTI® will not tell you what your destiny is, or what your life’s purpose may be. However, by having a better understanding of your own personality, as well as personality traits of others, you may develop an insight that will assist you in finding your general direction in life. It also teaches us to expect certain differences between types and understand how to cope with them more efficiently.

You may have heard of MBTI® before, at work or school, or just curious about what it can do for you. This is why I’ve wrote this post about MBTI®, and why someday you may wish to take the assessment yourself. In any case, I put together the following outline, for you to gain the basic understanding of this Personality Assessment Tool and its benefits.

History

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was based on the theory of psychological types described by a Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung (1875-1961), forebearer of Analytical Psychology. It was originally developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. The primary purpose of the indicator was to offer people access to the benefit of knowing their personality type.

Since its origin in 1942 it has continuously undergone rigorous research and development. According to the governing body, it’s the most widely used personality development tool in the world, with over 2 million new assessments each year. It claims to meet or exceed the reliability of other psychological instruments.

Application

The application of MBTI® can go quite deep. It can be applied to virtually all areas of personal growth with a degree of insight. Today the indicator is often used in the areas of life coaching, career coaching, personal development, team building, leadership training and marriage counseling. It literally has something for everyone.

16 Types

According to Myers Briggs Indicator, there are 16 distinctly different personality types comprised from four main preferences. The preferences are: Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving. Understanding these preferences and their relationships, aids in the interpretation and verification process of the tool.

There isn’t such a thing as a good or bad personality type. Each type has their unique preferences, and each is equally valuable. In fact, each personality type compliments the others. MBTI® indicates the personality type, not the person’s strength or weakness. I thought it would be interesting to summarize and describe each of the 16 types below. Incidentally my personality type is INFJ. Have fun.

1. ISTJ

Responsible and loyal to their families, relationships and organizations. As long as it makes sense to them, they will go to great lengths to complete something they believe in. Being competent and responsible, they prefer to work alone and take accountability for their own actions. They are practical, sensible, realistic, systematic, logical, analytical, detached and reasonable.

2. ISFJ

Considerate and dependable, committed to people with whom they associate. Work steadily to complete the job on time, but dislike to do anything that doesn’t make sense to them. They focus on what other people want or need from them, and establish orderly procedure to fulfill those needs. They take their responsibilities seriously. They are practical, realistic, specific, cooperative, thoughtful, kind and sensitive.

3. ESTP

Energetic and active problem solvers. They are resourceful and adaptable, creatively responding to challenges, constantly finding new ways to apply existing systems. Enjoying life makes them popular at social events. Their flexibility and rationality makes them good team members. They are observant, practical, realistic, active, analytical, assertive and straightforward.

4. ESFP

Living in the moment, loving life, enjoying people, activities, clothing and nature. Finding ways to creatively meet human needs. Learning as they go, they are excellent goal oriented team players. They have hands on, fun loving attitudes. They appreciate and take pleasure in their possessions. They are observant, practical, specific, realistic, active, involved, generous, optimistic, tactful, and persuasive.

5. INTJ

Clearly envision future possibilities. Possess drive and organizational skills to accomplish their plans. Enjoy complex challenges, theoretical and abstract thought. Accomplish visionary goals through long range thinking, creating structure and implementing strategies. Quickly adapt to new information and events. Creative, insightful, conceptual, rational, concise, clear, objectively critical and detached.

6. INFJ

Intuitive understanding of human relationships and complex meanings. Trusting in their insight, often understanding others before they understand themselves. Empathically understanding, with the organizational skills for enhancing people’s lives. Seeking meaning in life, while disliking details unless they fit their inner vision. Creative, insightful, visionary, symbolic, metaphorical, conceptual, idealistic, deep, compassionate and sensitive.

7. ENTP

Searching out possibilities and opportunities. Recognize patterns and connections that others can not. Strategically analyzing outcomes. Excellent at understanding systems and resourceful at navigating within them to achieve the desired results. Innovative and enthusiastic. Motivated by challenges, they are enthusiastic and innovative. Imaginative, clever, creative, conceptual, curious, theoretical, logical, objective and assertive.

8. ENFP

Living life of creativity and adventure. Experiencing intense emotions and feelings. Insightful about people and organizations. Persuasively pursuing that which is most important to them. Energetic and enthusiastic, they adapt and blossom wherever they happen to be. Intrigued by ideas, experiences and people, they connect and find meaning with others. Creative, imaginative, spontaneous, friendly, caring and supportive.

9. ISTP

Careful observers of their surroundings. Efficiently solve the core problems with the least amount of effort. Curious about how things work. Not interested in abstract theories unless they can easily apply them. Enjoy solving problems objectively. Specialize in making rational and objective decisions. Focus on realistic, tangible possibilities. Analytical, detached, logical, objective, pragmatic, practical and realistic.

10. INTP

Independently solve problems, great at providing detached analytical ideas and solutions. Sceptical and intelligent, they challenge themselves with difficult questions in order to discover new, logical answers. Although they work best alone, their critical nature can offer assistance to groups with complex problems. Analytical, logical, objectively critical, detached, mentally quick, insightful and intensely curious.

11. ESTJ

Focus on the present, that which is tangible and real. Enjoy organizing projects and creating procedures. Live life by clear and defined believe systems and expect others to do the same. They hold efficiency and competence in high regard, with little tolerance for confusion and inefficiency. Eager to plan for, and correct situations that are not working well. Decisive, logical, analytical, critical, assertive, practical, pragmatic and systematic.

12. ENTJ

Natural strategic leaders, they develop possibilities into plans. Recognize illogical and inefficient procedures and readily proceed to correct them. Organizers of people, events and organizations to advance forward according to plan. Set and enforce high standards on others and themselves. Tough when necessary, they recognize intelligence and competence, but dislike inefficiency. Clear, assertive, decisive, logical, conceptual and innovative.

13. ISFP

Joyfully live in the present. Love the freedom to follow their own calling, to have their space and the time to enjoy the moment. They offer the same freedom to others. Highly dedicated to those people and things that are important to them. Directed by strong sense of inner values. Eager to contribute to the happiness and well being of others. Considerate, gentle, sensitive, kind, trusting, practical, observant, factual and realistic.

14. INFP

Highly aligned with their values. They want to participate in activities that contribute to their own growth and development, as well as to the development of others. Committed to their believes, they seek out purpose in life. They respect and honor the needs and obligations to others. Typically working in bursts of energy, they prefer exciting, meaningful work. Loyal, idealistic, sensitive, concerned, creative and curious.

15. ESFJ

Radiating warmth and energy they are socially outgoing. Detail oriented, they enjoy organizing people and activities, and accurately following through. They appreciate security and stability and avoid conflicts and tense situations. They like to be appreciated for who they are and for what they offer to others. Enjoy and take care of their possessions. Helpful, tactful, sympathetic, cooperative, decisive, realistic, practical, consistent and thorough.

16. ENFJ

Highly tuned into others, they emphasize support and encouragement. Able to quickly build relationships, they bring together different factions. Persuasive, they radiate warmth and energy. They notice the best in people, and build cooperative and friendly relationships. Appreciate approval, they are extra sensitive to negativity and criticism. Warm, loyal, trustworthy, compassionate, supportive, imaginative and creative.

In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading about the different personality types. To determine your type, you will need to begin by taking your assessment. A word of caution, you will find a lot of free Myers Briggs tests online. Please be aware that unless they are administered by a certified MBTI® Practitioner, they are an imitation and may not offer you the same level of quality as the authentic indicator. In fact by giving you incorrect interpretation, they may actually cause more harm than good. It’s well worth it, to take the genuine assessment.

Live well. Vlad

If this or any one of our other articles helped you in some way, please be awesome by spreading the word on your favorite social networks, and by subscribing to our email updates. Thank you.