By Books Writer Denise Turney

Living a blessed life is natural. But, in this world, living a blessed life takes courage. Perhaps, this is why it’s tempting to cash life in for playing it safe and doing what it takes to gain the approval of someone you admire, even if these choices force you away from joy.

At first glance, giving in to safe choices is easier, better. It’s easier to say “yes” to an invitation when you really want to say “no”. And it’s easier to agree to do a friend, manager or colleague a favor than it is to tell them “no” and risk incurring their disappointment or anger. But there’s a price to pay for so much yielding.

Start Living a Blessed Life Now

If you’re serious about living your best life now, prepare to face resistance. After all, not everyone thinks the way you do. Furthermore, not everyone should think the same. The one commonality that allows for freedom with grace is a commitment to love. This commitment is at the core of living your best life.

This means that you commit to only love.

As you work at this, should you feel tempted to hold a grievance and get blocked, forgive. There’s power in forgiveness. Why? Forgiveness keeps the flow of love open. And it’s these that offer access to light for inner vision, guidance and the courage to forge ahead as you deepen and expand your life.

Pursue Living Learning Loving

Living your best life also requires that you get clear about what you really want. To do this, sit still for 15 minutes. Simply sit still in a quiet, peaceful place. Make it a habit. Notice if you don’t receive more inner guidance, love-based promptings.

After you get clear about what you really want, map out a path to fulfill those goals. And these goals may not involve gaining material things. These goals may center around experiences like traveling to a new country, learning to speak a different language or dancing for the first time in years.

For example, in addition to sitting still and/or meditating, the path to living a blessed life might find you researching facts about your goals. Prior to traveling to a new country, you might research what you need to do to get a passport. You also might research key places to visit in the country, tour guide options, hotels and flight deals. As you live your best life now, you also might study the language in the country, learning enough lingo to be able to enjoy time that you spend in the country.

Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams

Here are other actions that could help you as you go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Create or cut out pictures of experiences you want, experiences that will open the door to joy. Other choices that could help you to go confidently in the direction of your dreams include:

• Writing down actions you will take to achieve your goals
• List out specific steps required to fulfill these goals
• Identify financial, time and legal resources needed to fulfill your goals
• Clearly outline where you will get these resources
• Schedule events that put you in contact with the right buyers, supporters and influencers

While you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, stay on high moral ground. Remain ethical. Avoid thinking that doing the wrong thing will pay off. After all, even if cutting corners lends you short term benefits, doing the wrong thing will cost you big in the long term. Why? You have a conscience. At your core, you always want to do what’s right.

Art of Living a Blessed Life

Fortunately, you can do what’s right and do what it takes to start living a blessed life. Just be prepared to face resistance, including inner resistance. For example, there may be times when you have to learn the art of living alone and loving it. This could happen after your children reach adulthood and leave home.

Or it could happen should your spouse transition, you divorce or relocate to an area miles away from family. Business shifts, market changes, physical challenges and/or mental or emotional changes are types of resistance and setbacks that you could face. Despite the challenges, when you go after what you’re Higher Self wants, it’s always worth it.

Steer Clear of These Regrets to Keep Living a Blessed Life

Consider this should you feel tempted to quit, throw in the towel and take the easy route, striving to make others happy instead of yourself. These are five things that people often regret when they reach the end of their physical experience. Choices that you make now could keep you from experiencing these regrets.

• Living a life that others want you to live instead of living the life that you want
• Not resting and enjoying experiences more fully
• Choosing to avoid communicating with friends. Opting to busy yourself with work and family over maintaining healthy friendships.
• Keeping your authentic thoughts secret, and, instead agreeing with others just to go along
• Putting everything ahead of your goal of living a blessed life.

To start loving your life, you’re going to have to take one to three actions each day that support the belief that “you love yourself’. Looking for ideas? Try a relaxing bubble bath, walk in nature, listening to relaxing music that you love or dancing. Yes, dancing. After all, enjoying life and living a blessed life are about loving your Real, True Self more and more.

Looking for more support? Here’s to hoping that Love Pour Over Me proves helpful to you as you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, especially if yours was a troubled beginning.