Some of us seek for answers out there, up there, anywhere but in here. We look for signs from up above hoping to find a path to love and true happiness. We want a quick fix, a helpful guide book, 5 top tips and “how to” hacks. But while we persist, we often resist the very thing that is and has always been the path to wholeness and mental well being.

Think of it like this: all of us love a shiny new car, we love to polish and shine the exterior, we love to take a spin around the neighborhood to share our excitement. But when it breaks down on the road, we don’t sit there and hope for a miracle – to fix it, we are forced to look under the hood.

Everything we need to live our best lives and to truly be happy in our own skin – is found under the hood. We must be willing to look inside, to explore our thoughts, motivations,  perceptions and beliefs. To get clarity, we must be willing to be vulnerable enough to sit quietly with our own thoughts, without distracting input from outside voices.

While helpful insights and other’s revelations may spark a sense of curiosity and desire to change – true transformation is exclusively an inside job. No one can make you change anything about yourself until you internalize it and have your own revelatory aha or come to Jesus moment.

Ironically, it is that very thing “fear of being introspective” that often hinders us from being freed from anxiety, self doubt, negative internal dialogues and all other causes of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Some people are so scared of what they will find, they find it easier and safer to project negativity onto others than to reflect and deal with their own broken parts.

Desire to change is lifting the hood. Awareness is inspecting all the parts of your internal engine. Clarity is accepting the faulty wiring. Choosing is the elbow grease required to do the necessary work to get the engine running smoothly. Gratitude is turning the key with a fresh, new perspective: it’s not the showroom polished exterior that makes you happy – it is the confidence in your well-oiled machine that makes the journey much more fulfilling and enjoyable.  Freedom is the wide-open road ahead offering fearless exploration of your deepest self, trusting your own built-in navigation to make this life experience an amazing adventure. Here’s to Happy Trails!