By Victoria Joanna Bailey  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Ever since I can remember I’ve been determined to find my purpose and live a meaningful life.  I wasn’t satisfied with finding the right job or career, I needed to feel that whatever I was doing, I was meant to do.  I wanted to feel inspired and alive and most of all, authentic.

So I did what anyone seeking fulfillment would do…. I went to University to get a business degree, with a major in Accounting.   Okay, so in hindsight, it is painfully obvious that I was not on the right path.  However, as a 20 year old with the pressure and desire to succeed, you do what you have been raised to do, and for me, I was raised to do well in school, get an education and climb the corporate ladder.

After 10 years of job changes, career counselors, aptitude tests and well meaning advice from friends and family, I finally figured it out.  I stopped using my head and started using my heart.  There’s a saying that goes something like “You can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.”   I realized, if my head got me to where I was, I would need to find another way, another form of guidance and decision-making.

What I have learned since those confusing early 20’s is that purpose and inspiration come from a deeper place, a place of connection with Self, with intuition, with something bigger. 

Living an inspired life requires courage, commitment and faith.  No one has the magic formula, so here are a few tips to get you moving in the direction of your dreams.

Tap into your intuition.  This is your internal guidance system.  Learn to trust your inner voice.  Meditate, journal, learn to pay attention to the way your intuition communicates with you – often this will first happen in hindsight and eventually you will be able to trust that voice and listen to it in the moment.

Have faith.  Set your intention, take action, but then surrender your ideas of how things “should’ happen.  Having faith means that you believe you are on the right track even in absence of evidence in your immediate reality.

Follow your bliss.  Your passions are the clues and guideposts to your unique purpose and path.  The word desire means “of the spirit” – your dreams are your roadmap to create an inspired life.   

Get outside of your head.  You may need to move beyond rationale, fear-based, logical thinking.  Not everything will make sense.  Our mental chatter is often based on other people’s fears and opinions that we’ve unconsciously absorbed. 

Get ready to leap.  If you wait for guarantees, you will never take action.  Your ability to leap will depend on how often you practice steps 1 through 4.