Hello busy people with busy lives and busy thoughts. What have you been up to today?

Have you lived your life like it was your last day on earth or have you left a few bucket-list items on your to-do list for tomorrow?

I know, I know. I can hear you sigh.  You’re thinking: There’s  one of those pep-talk life-coaches again, telling me I should live my dreams, live life to the fullest and forgive everyone who has ever insulted or hurt me, so I can create space for more important things.

Well…you know what….I do understand why that irritates you….for I’ve been there too. Deeply XI. The Forceirritated by friends and family who have been telling me I was capable of much more than what I was doing.

And I have also figured out why being told that, irritated me so much. It irritated me because deep down inside I knew they were telling the truth. I knew I was only doing half, if not less, of what I was capable of; that I was enjoying life only half as much as I could be enjoying it.

And then…, I even figured out why I was doing only half as much, if not less, as well as enjoying life only half as much, if not far less.

I did that, because, a lot of my time, I was not showing my true colors.

Now here’s an important realization. More than half of the time of my life I was adjusting to what others expect from me, or at the least what I thought was expected from me.
More than half of my time I was answering to the call of things outside of me. Deadlines, family obligations, work.

I am not saying this is necessarily a bad thing. Some deadlines are fun to work towards and some family obligations are extremely cheerful. But then they are no longer called obligations I suppose.

Perhaps that is where the secret to showing true colors lies; to go rebel and replace feeling obliged to do things that serve the outside world first by what  we would rather do with our time , i.e. showing our true colors.

Of course I do not know if all this goes for you as well, but I sure know it does for me. Becoming aware of it woke me up to the need of change. Not necessarily to start living life to the fullest, for one can only do so much, and take only one step at the time.
But I did make it a resolution to from now on, show my true colors a little more; with the goal to eventually do that more than half the time.

Ingrid Schippers, 13-09-2016

Before you leave….draw your own Nan Yar- Who Am I card of the day on the right of this blog. Click the card and let your subconscious do the thinking…

This blog is featured as spoken end note of the Dutchbuzz edition of Tuesday 13 September 2016 and can be listened to on The Hague FM from 10.00 tot 11.00 pm or on the Dutchbuzz podcast of 13 September 2016 or by clicking here: