According to a Mental Health America study, only 20% are finding deep, lasting meaning in our lives. Eighty-five percent of us have experienced burnout. And our mental health struggles have become a full-blown epidemic in the western world.
As if those nuggets weren’t enough, here’s a real zinger: according to Bronnie Ware, Australian palliative care nurse and author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, the #1 regret of those on their deathbed is, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
So, why are so many of us still subscribing to a generations-old, societal definition of success that’s leaving us burned out, exhausted, and unfulfilled? A definition that’s more external checklist than internal check-in. More doing than being. More script in our heads than story in our souls. It’s time to break the “norm” of tolerating a life that feels success-EMPTY instead of success-FULL.
I know it’s hard to listen to your soul in a world that’s shouting at you to follow a script, stay bound to the “shackles of should”, and wear busyness as a badge of honor. But that’s exactly what I’m inviting you to do.
It’s time to awaken your rebel soul.
Maybe you read the word rebel and immediately think, “That’s not me. I’m not one of those leather-clad troublemakers.” I get it and I would argue that’s an old rebel cliché. The idea of rebelling against, playing on someone else’s terms. Here’s a counter-intuitive truth to ponder:
Authenticity is the truest form of rebellion.
Living life on your terms is the exact opposite of the tidy scripts, pre-populated checklists, and exhausting expectations handed to you by society (or maybe your parents). We’re all rebels when we’re living our truth. Leather jacket not required.
Embracing this rebel reframe is the liberating start to authoring your own success script. It begins with the bold declaration to REBEL FOR who you are, what you want, and the impact you want to have in your life.
So, if you’re looking for permission to crumple up those old scripts that are no longer serving you, and let the truth of your soul inspire the way forward, then join me and Christine Sperber for the ultimate rebel workshop at MEA this March 5-12, Awaken Your Rebel Soul to Reimagine Success. Badassery included.
This is the start of a REBELution, compadres. You in?
Shelley is an author, speaker, and Chief Soul Officer of Soulbbatical (you can learn more at her website). At 46, she boldly left an executive role at Harley-Davidson to reclaim her soul and rewrite her own script of success. That journey launched her business and bestselling book, Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel’s Guide to Finding Your Best Life. She’s on a mission to liberate a billion souls.