Hey kids,

Things are happening.

A year ago I wrote down my ten year goals. They went a little something like this:

By January 2022, I:

1. Live in Williamsburg with the love of my life.
2. I teach yoga in New York, specifically at VIRAYOGA.
3. I am an Ayurvedic doctor.

So…. it’s January 2013 and I have some news:

1. I live in Williamsburg with the love of my life.
2. I will be teaching at VIRAYOGA starting in February. (Where I have had the unbelievably beautiful experience of  assisting Elena for the past few months).
   
3. I also start my training in Ayurveda through the Kripalu School of Ayurveda on Feb. 1.

So…

I think it’s time to write some new goals.

But let’s first have a little chat about being realistic.

I see a glorification of “realistic thinking” in this world today and honestly, I’m not a fan. What I am a big fan of is resourcefulness, openness, and dedication. In my own life, “realistic thinking” shown up as big fat excuses driven by fear of failure. Being overly realistic has led me to fall into things (careers, studies, relationships) I’m not super psyched about, and has led me to believe untrue things about myself, my character, my abilities, and my true skills. “Realistic” is very often a euphemism for “afraid.”

It’s because the ego tells us it’s time to quit when things get too hard. We can’t blame the ego, either- that’s the ego’s job. It wants to protect us from failure and pain. But what a lot of us don’t understand is that the ego creates fear. And fear is the greatest pain of all.

So I’ve been taught that we should fail 50% of our goals. Our goals should be too difficult. They should be unrealistic. Because the process of achieving seemingly impossible things, and the dedication it takes to try and make those things happen is what gets you ready for the big game. And waking up every day ready to show up for you life in the biggest, baddest, most balls-to-the-wall way is what sets you a part from the nihilistic thinkers who come up with realistic excuses to stop when the going gets rough. 

I’m not talking about blind optimism here. Blind optimism is just as fear-driven as creating limiting beliefs. I’m talking about getting up every day and getting to work. Real work. The work that makes your stomach turn. The work that makes you want to cry. The work that makes you want to give up and eat bon-bons for the rest of your life. The work that makes you feel like a lumbering oaf trying to get your shit together. The work that keeps you up at night.  The work that makes you consider staying at a school or a job or in a relationship that crushes you, just because it seems easier at the time. The work that you have to fight for. The work that other people who love and care about you say is a waste of your time and will never end up happening. The work that makes you look like a f***ing crazy person.  The work that reminds you that, hi, you’re alive and you have a hell of a lot more to contribute to this world.

This is the work we all must do. This is the work we were created to do. 

I’m not interested in coming up with realistic excuses as to why I can’t achieve my dreams because I’m not interested in living in fear or doubt. I’m interested in showing up for my life 110% every. damn. day. And if that means setting f***ing crazy-ass goals for myself and having the audacity to try and achieve them, then at least if I fail I can go to bed knowing I did my day’s work. I know that when the ego tells me it’s time to quit, I have to keep going. The Universe will let me know when it’s time to change course, and I’m open enough to look for those assignments.

And I will continue to show up. Because in Sweet G Town, showing up is  99% of the measure of success and infinitely better than sitting on the sidelines attempting to avoid an outcome that hasn’t even happened yet and is almost entirely in your control. 

Here’s why:

I firmly believe that when you put an intention out there, the Universe conspires to make it happen. That we already have everything we need to achieve anything. That removing the obstacles within ourselves is 90% of the battle of overcoming obstacles. I believe that obstacles are perceived and that no where is it written for any one of us to fail.

But most of all, I know that each one of us was put on this Earth for a unique and specific purpose. And aligning yourself to that which you already are is what makes setting and achieving goals possible. It’s not about getting something you don’t have, or being so set on a specific outcome that you can’t entertain another idea…it’s about living in to your potential.

When I wrote my ten year goals, I was living in Boston, I was teaching yoga in abandoned college classrooms, and I was studying a subject that made me feel like I was rotting on the inside. Hell, I didn’t even have a boyfriend at the time. Honestly, it felt like kind of a joke to write down the goals that I put to paper. But I did. Because I knew my heart wanted to go after them. I knew that there was a part of me that was being led. I knew that no where was it written for me to fail.

Okay, so, it seemed improbable, if not impossible.  I thought it might take my whole life to work to that point, let alone ten years. And then, after a series of highly life-altering and perspective-inducing events, I realized that, what do you know, nothing is actually impossible. You can try anything and literally anything can happen at any moment. Your whole life can change in a second. Mine did. Yours does every day. Because every second you have the opportunity to decide between love or fear. Between trust or doubt. Between getting out of your own way, or limiting yourself with obstacles you perceive.

My willingness to try f***ing crazy-ass scary things got me to this point right now. I’m not saying that LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I HAVE ARRIVED just because I did some cool shit this year. I have a lifetime of work ahead of me. But I’m willing to recognize that this big and beautiful Universe has a plan for me. I’m willing to show up.

And when you set goals for yourself and remove the obstacles you create, you really become unstoppable. You get to decide what is impossible or not. You get to realize your destiny. You get to answer the door when fear comes knocking and say, “sorry, I’m in pursuit of my dreams right now, please come back never, okay bye.”

I’ve included a 15-minute guided meditation designed to help break through the energetic blocks that are getting in the way of your achievement. Feel free to distribute/download/do whatever with this so you can practice whenever  is convenient for you.

I really believe that there is no secret system to success when it comes to achieving goals. It just boils down to this:

Are you willing to chase after your dreams? Are you willing to show up for the assignments you were given when placed on this Earth? Are you willing to choose Love over fear? Are you willing to trust that the Universe has a plan for you? Do you see that you are being led?

Nowhere is it written for you to fail.

{ sat nam + namaste }

xo

G

PS: Thank you, Mom for loving your crazy daughter and helping make all of these things possible.