[00:00:00] Aneta: We often hear people wishing us a long, happy, and healthy life, but what if the length isn't what matters most? What if instead, it's the breath depth and purpose of each day that matters most? Welcome to the Live the Width of Your Life podcast. My name is Aneta Ardelian Kuzma and join me weekly as I interview guests who made changes in their own lives to live more fully with intention, gratitude, and joy. Be prepared to be inspired by their stories of how they shifted their mindset, took courageous action, and designed the life that they always wanted to live.
[00:00:34] Alignment is the new ambition. And I want to say this again because you might be the person that needs to hear this today. Alignment is the new ambition. We live in a world that's obsessed with doing, always hustling, producing, and pushing forward. And here's the truth. The answer isn't in more striving more pushing or more grinding.
[00:00:58] We don't lack ambition. We lack alignment. And the key isn't looking outside of ourselves. It's not looking externally for more accolades or accomplishments or achievements or praise or even acceptance or a sense of belonging. It's going inside for what our soul desperately needs. Now somewhere along the line, we lost ourselves.
[00:01:27] We started believing that who we are is so tied to what we do, to our title, to our job, maybe to the schools that we go to, to where we live. Sometimes I see as parents, it's even tied to our kids’ accomplishments. That's not who we are. Those are all things that we've picked up along the way. And when we finally reach those milestones that we work so hard for, the promotion, the end of a project, maybe it's bonus time, whatever it is that you're working towards when you accomplish it and it still feels empty.
[00:02:07] That's a really good indication they are out of alignment. We've lost ourselves in becoming everyone else, except who we're supposed to be. And I know what it's like to get caught in this cycle. I was there myself for a long time. Everything looked successful on the outside, and inside, and I was completely falling apart.
[00:02:30] I was disconnected on the inside. I was moving so fast that I didn't even recognize myself. And I remember asking like, who am I underneath all of these other titles underneath all these other roles that I've taken on in my life? And the scariest question becomes who are we without these labels? Who am I beyond what I do, and where I work?
[00:02:57] And the disconnection can show up in many ways. So it could be constant exhaustion that no amount of rest fixes. It could be a gnawing feeling that something's missing, maybe it's success that feels empty, or recognition that just doesn't get you as excited as it used to. And maybe for you, it's a life that looks perfect on the outside, but you still feel a little hollow on the inside.
[00:03:23] And it could feel like, the feeling of shame because you're so grateful and you still want more. And here's what I've learned that the path back to ourselves is not about doing more. It's not getting a more complicated job or looking for something else or training for a marathon. I've tried all those things.
[00:03:44] It's through being and through unwinding all of these external identities and reconnecting with our truth, connecting to our creator, to the divine, to conscious breathing, through mindful movement, maybe silent reflection, doing some journaling on soul-level questions. It's choosing to live more intentionally.
[00:04:07] I want to share with you five questions that were helpful for me on my journey. Grab a journal, if you can, these are worth writing. So number one, when do you feel most alive? What are those moments? Not when you're accomplishing something, but moments outside of that, when you feel so truly and deeply present in your life and your heart's just overflowing with gratitude.
[00:04:31] Number two, what is it that lights you up so much that you lose track of time that you feel like you are in complete flow? And it's not scrolling on your phone or maybe watching Netflix or driving and you don't even know how you got somewhere. It's looking back on your moments of life, maybe this last year, and just saying, when did I feel so connected to everything else?
[00:04:55] Number three, what would you do if you didn't worry about failure or how to accomplish something? You just allowed yourself to dream so big and didn't negotiate with yourself before writing it down. That's what I want you to do. Focus on the what, not the how, maybe the why, but just allow yourself to dream super big.
[00:05:14] Number four, where in your life are you experiencing resistance? Maybe you're trying to force something and it doesn't feel like it's flow. Maybe something you're pushing against the natural rhythm. Maybe it's just you're trying to hold on to something and it's just not working. Probably an indication that there's some misalignment there.
[00:05:34] And number five, what are those whispers of your soul? When we get quiet and we listen, or maybe in the pauses early in the morning, late at night, you're waking up in the middle of the night and you have some things on your heart, some questions. Pay attention to those, and write those down. Those are so rare, but they're usually clues from our soul.
[00:05:55] And when you start listening to these answers and everything starts to shift, everything starts to move in your life. There is momentum. Work becomes more than just a title. Success becomes what you define it to be. Your life becomes more than just a series of accomplishments. It's what you want. And I've created a free Live The Width assessment to help you explore these questions.
[00:06:19] I've included the link before below. And if you also want to go a little bit deeper, I have a masterclass on March 13th at 3 PM Eastern time. It's called from Autopilot to Aligned: A New Framework for Redefining Success and Fulfillment. I would love to see you there. Remember, your soul isn't just whispering.
[00:06:42] It's calling for you to do something greater, something more purposeful. And the question is, are you ready to listen? Click the link below to register for the masterclass. And if this resonates with you, hit subscribe to join our community of purpose-driven achievers. Thank you so much for being here and I'll see you in the masterclass.
[00:07:06] Thank you for listening to today's episode. If today's conversation inspired you to dream again, break out of your comfort zones, or reflect on what it means to you to live more fully, then please follow this podcast because every week you'll hear more stories from people just like you who took imperfect action towards their goals, created more joy and are living the life that they always dreamt of living.