Tough Life Questions: The How and the Why

As a Professional Coach, I am frequently asked, "why is thisso hard?"

Now this question often comes in many different forms, suchas "Why is such-and-such at my job so hard?" Or, "Why isaddressing this issue with my child, spouse, family sohard?" Or, "Why is it so hard to accept this thing aboutmyself?" Or the REALLY big question.... "Why is life sohard?"

The reason it is SO hard, is that it is SO easy to forgetyou ARE a perfect being; PERFECT, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. Now, I know that sounds simplistic, and probably even alittle naive and childish. But that does not discount thetruth of the statement.

Page 220 of Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life statesthis truth more eloquently. He writes, "There is no growthwithout change; no change without fear or loss; no losswithout pain."

Everyday of your life, you are on a journey of growth. Yousee and hear new things; experience new thoughts andemotions; interact with new and different people - orinteract with the same people in new and different ways. Each day is, in some way, unique. Unlike all others youhave experienced before, and unlike all those you willexperience in the days to come.

Your job, your purpose, for that day is to MANIFEST YOURPERFECTION; to promote and declare who you truly are in each moment of your day. You are probably asking, "how can I possibly do that?!?"

You do that through purposeful living. You do that byasking the tough questions. You do that by paying attentionto your intentions. You do that through practice andpatience.

Marcus Aurelius, one of the most insightful and perceptiveancient philosophers said, "Our life is what our thoughtsmake of it." This is true. The circle of creation beginswith Belief, for you cannot internalize and own thoughtsthat do not originate from that which you believe.

The circle then moves to that which you Think. These arethe your opinions, ideas, and concepts that you form aboutyour experience and your reality. This then becomes thefuel, the fodder, for that which you Speak.

What you speak is your declaration of who you are. It isyour declaration to yourself, your family and friends, yourcolleagues, and the universe. What you speak of instigatesthat which you Do; your physical manifestation of yourbelieve; your life actions. That which you DO circles backaround and either reinforces or forces you to reevaluatethat which you Believe.

Therefore, it is important to ask yourself the toughquestions. To ask yourself, "What do I Believe?" "What isthe obstacle that I am currently faced with?" "What am Iafraid of?" "What am I doing that is not aligned with mycore values?"

As a Professional Coach, it is my job to ask you these toughquestions. The questions that you most likely do not wantto hear, and the questions that you probably do not want toanswer. If you are on a path of purposeful living, then itis YOUR job to as YOURSELF these questions.

You do not ask these questions to make yourself feel small,or incompetent, or unworthy. You ask yourself thesequestions to "RE-MIND" yourself of WHO YOU TRULY ARE inrelation to all that you are experiencing in that moment; to"RE-MIND" yourself of your core truths and values; to"RE-MIND" yourself that WHATEVER it is that you areexperiencing in that moment; the experience is YOUR PERFECTEXPERIENCE FOR YOUR GROWTH IN THAT MOMENT.

The answer to these tough questions lies only in you. Theanswer HAVE ALWAYS existed within you, and the answers WILLALWAYS exist within you. The answers are simply Who andWhat you are; and Who and What you can become. Saiddifferently, these answers are simply your BELIEFS in"ALL-WAYS." Your job is to CHOOSE which beliefs you areready to manifest.

So, I ask you this; what do YOU believe?

(c) 2006, Amy M. Potavin