What’s Holding You Back?

The Power of Self-Awareness to Reach New Heights

In Arda’s recent book, The Art of Becoming Unstuck, he likens life to a hot air balloon ride. Even though I’ve read the book twice now, I recently found myself exploring his analogy further into what it means to live life as if floating seamlessly along, enjoying the natural beauty and colorful landscape from a most spectacular vantage point.  Whether conscious or not of our inner quest for life, we all aspire to find purpose, achieve our goals, and live life to the fullest.

Well, for some reason or another, we often fail to embrace our hearts’ desires as life’s challenges inevitably weigh us down and distract us from our happiness.   We feel heavy, exhausted, and unmotivated whenever we try to reach higher altitudes. Maintaining homeostasis becomes virtually impossible, with many ups and downs: even though some days may be carefree and joyful, many more are saturated with hardship and pain.    Reflecting on the hot air balloon ride, we seem to hover endlessly in lower altitudes, unable to take off toward our higher potentials. Little do we know our past experiences, repressed emotions, and narrow perspectives keep us at those lower altitudes, where the ride is anything but smooth.   Most days, we end up feeling lost, confused, and helpless. Limiting life patterns stand in our way, posing barriers to the harmonious, joyful life our mind’s eye envisions.  

All is far from lost.

The quest for life turns into the profound question of letting go of what’s holding us back and allowing the hot air balloon to rise into the atmosphere where a happier and more joyful life awaits. You may ask, “Can I let go of my past, conditioning, regrets, and character that kept me in lower altitudes?”   The answer is a strong yes, as breaking free from the shackles of the past is possible but requires dedication and commitment to a self-discovery journey. In The Art of Becoming Unstuck, Arda guides us to unimaginable heights that we can’t possibly fathom today.   The invitation is always there for you, awaiting your first step: Discover who you are under your masks of time-worn experience and relinquish your control to the winds of change. Soon, you will reach your highest potential and live life to the fullest.   

Ready? Set? Go!
The stronghold of limiting patterns affects our ability to move forward freely. In that case, you might have asked yourself, “How do I get out of my comfort zone into an existence of choice, harmony, and adventure? How do I step off the hamster wheel of life, going nowhere, where I continue sacrificing my happiness for the illusion of security?  Believe it or not, my friends, you can jump off that spinning wheel any time. Yep. The power is in your hands to wave goodbye to the mundane, have healthier relationships, find fulfilling jobs, and discover love and joy again. Even if you want just a little more than yesterday, life will open itself up to you if you dare take a few practical steps and apply a few powerful tools and techniques!  

Self-Awareness is Key.

Self-awareness is the first step toward personal freedom. It encourages your hot air balloon to slowly take off to higher altitudes, where your ultimate happiness resides, and self-defeating patterns dissolve gracefully.   So, heighten your self-awareness when a person or situation triggers you; pay close attention to your emotional reactions and the accompanying thoughts. Why? These situations allow you to discover and closely examine the root cause of your suffering.    When triggered, take hold of that emotional thread and pull gently. Work the filament until all the layers unfold, revealing your repressed fears tucked away deep within the subconscious. The next time you are tense, anxious, angry, or sad, ask yourself why you are so by inquiring about the specific thoughts preceding that emotional reaction.    For example, let’s say I’m walking into a meeting at work and sweating. I cannot breathe, my knees are weak, and I feel faint. What is happening?

My body reacts to my thoughts: “The moment I step into that meeting, everybody will look with critical eyes. Everyone will judge and challenge me, and I will look stupid in front of my peers.” Those voices in your head bear witness to your subconscious internal programming or the thought patterns, belief systems, and value sets you’ve learned and lived by your entire life.  

Origins

Once you become aware of your reactions, get curious and do a deep dive to discover your emotions (responses of the physical body provoked by a stimulus) and feelings (thoughts influenced by our emotions but generated from our reasoning).   Your thoughts ignite the charge behind your feelings, so you need to become aware of your thoughts precisely when your emotions flare so you can understand why you are reacting.   Little by little, you’ll slowly realize that your emotions are caused by your perceptions or how you see the world. How you see reality stems directly from the belief systems and patterns you’ve adopted from the beginning of time.   From this vantage point, you’ll uncover the origin or root of that first emotional hurt you experienced so long ago; it caused the first emotional reaction and defensive actions, which repeat themselves, forming our limiting life patterns.   As you continue to pay attention to and investigate the root-cause-effect relationship between emotions, perceptions, feelings, and fears, you’ll feel hopeful, more centered, and in control of your reactions. 

Tools

All the materials you need to rise in consciousness can be found in The Art of Becoming Unstuck, written as a workbook for life. Follow the exercises and practice sessions contained within its pages, and you will be on your way to rising above triggers and feeling liberated. The emotional trauma of the past will no longer weigh down your life; you will be on your way to realizing your full potential and attaining ultimate happiness.    As an ardent student of Arda’s work and a certified Rise 2 Realize life coach, only now do I realize just how heavy all the sandbags or repressed emotional hurts from the past I was lugging around. No wonder I was scraping the ground when I tried to fly high! The more aware I am of the root causes of my emotional reactions, the lighter I feel. My hot air balloon is climbing steadily in altitude, and the view is magnificent. Want to join me?

Purchase The Art of Becoming Unstuck  
Elizabeth Ouellette is a certified Rise 2 Realize life coach. She is accepting new clients: elizabetho@outlook.com