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Have you noticed that whenever something devastating happens in the world, ( a tsunami, an earthquake, a great fire ) the first thing the media focuses on is the financial cost of the disaster? Emotional, mental, physical,community,spiritual costs very rarely get mentioned in any great detail.
The same thing happens in our own personal lives. We can tell anyone exactly what the financial cost of having something in our lives is. Or the cost of "stuff" that we "need" to make our lives worthwhile and yet don't even pay lip service to the cost of not being authentic and living our lives on purpose and in harmony with our deepest values.
It isn't until something goes awry that we even acknowledge that we may need to make changes in our lives. We put on weight, we have relationship break-downs, we have financial problems, we feel spiritually bankrupt, to name just a few examples.
This month I invite you to look at your life from a new perspective and ask yourself "what is it costing me to not live authentically and on purpose. To not be the person I am capable of being" and to do this in a non-judgemental way.
Just be observant, listen, be aware of your thoughts and actions. Are they congruent and in line with your deepest values? Then decide if you would like to change or not and if you do decide to change then take action, create a plan, design strategies and be accountable.
If you can get out of your own way and look at yourself without judgement or criticism but just as an observer would, you will have the opportunity to see what changes you would like to make in each area of your life and whether you are ready to pay the cost of change and what it would mean to you and others in your life to actually do this.
It is easy to say YES to change without counting the cost and that is why it is important to take the time to look at this fully. Are you willing to give up eating junk foods and exercise daily to live a healthier lifestyle? Are you willing to put your needs first to practice self-care? Are you willing to listen to your partner and be considerate of his/her needs in order to live in harmony? These are just some of the costs you may encounter.
If you are willing to pay the cost then the you may want to spend some time asking what has kept you from doing this in the past and if there are any underlying issues you may need to address first. When we bring our gremlins out of the cupboard they have nowhere to hide and lose their power.
By taking these steps and paying these costs you will be well on the way to living your life in a meaningful, joyful and sustainable way.
Most of all though you will be living authentically, on purpose and in alignment with your true values and the joy of that is priceless.
NOTE: You will find a values exercise on the DAD site. Just follow the instructions and your values will become very clear. | 
ACTION WORKS 
