Life doesn't always go the way we want it to. We all have dreams and when they start to go awry, many feel lost, alone, and don't know what to do. Here is my personal story titled Homeless to Happy and I I hope it has the potential to help someone out in the world. It’s a story about how I maneuvered through life when it didn’t match my dreams and how I was able to manifest better for myself.
Happiness Goals in a Hammock
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Homeless to Happy: How To Manifest Better for Yourself When Life Isn't Going Your Way
By Carolyn J. Braden
Technically, I was a homeless teenager for a while. It’s not something I ever wanted for myself, but it was a time period in my life when I learned a lot. Life gifted me with some interesting adventures at a young age and while some were fun, many others weren’t. During the not-so-fun times, however, I learned that when you listen to your heart, life may get dark, but it has a mysterious way of blooming into something more beautiful and better than you can imagine. It all happens when the darkness becomes light once again.
Here’s my story about why I know this is true and how I was able to manifest better for myself.
Trust the timing of your life quote
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Picture it: A seventeen-year-old girl in her senior year of high school with a good high school GPA, a cheerleader and gymnast, and a part time food service worker. She thought she was on her way towards living the original dream: go to college, get married, have kids and work at a job she loved. One day, however, she felt an urging need to confide in a beloved teacher about some not-so-great things going on in her house. Those things had been going on for years and she had finally hit her breaking point.
Deleting the dream I thought I wanted quote
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The next day, she found herself kicked out of her home and on the doorstep of an estranged parent with all her belongings contained in several plastic black garbage bags. She had been warned numerous times that this would happen, and when she had the courage to speak her truth, it finally did.
Amplify your voice quote
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To cope with what life had gifted her, she listened to her heart, used her creative talents, learned the lessons, worked hard, and remained hopeful.
Fast forward to the day after her 18th birthday. She was told her living situation was not working out via a hand written letter left on her bed pillow by that same estranged parent. She packed up some more black plastic garbage bags, left, and lived with numerous friends for a while.
Finding Hope in a Rainbow Night Sky
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To cope with what life had gifted her, she listened to her heart, used her creative talents, learned the lessons, worked hard, and remained hopeful.
She got herself into college. A relative offered her a room in their home. At first, she declined, as she had grown accustomed to being on her own. After a while, though, she wasn’t loving hauling around the garbage bags and sleeping on friend’s couches. So, she finally agreed. While living with the family member, she almost failed out of college after starting to deal with anxiety, self-doubt, and depression mixed with many other emotions.
Your inner critic does not narrate your life’s story quote
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To cope with what life had gifted her, she listened to her heart, used her creative talents, learned the lessons, worked hard, and remained hopeful.
She sought out counseling, changed majors and her life purpose started to make sense. She met her soulmate and they got married. She decided to start making her career dreams come true. She became an art teacher. She graduated with a Master’s degree and a 4.0 GPA. During her first year of full-time teaching, she took on the role as a caretaker, helping a dying family member. She lost that family member, and her heart hurt like never before.
What do do when life doesn’t go your way computer search
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To cope with what life had gifted her, she listened to her heart, used her creative talents, learned the lessons, worked hard, and remained hopeful.
She started her own creative side business. Her creativity was featured in InStyle magazine, Hallmark, on HGTV and more. It began to flourish, but she struggled with making her creative talents her primary focus. She left the teaching profession and moved into the corporate world. She did well at first, but then began to experience multiple discriminations based on her looks and talents. She tried her very best to make it work, but it just wasn’t.
Don’t allow later to become never quote
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To cope with what life had gifted her, she listened to her heart, used her creative talents, learned the lessons, worked hard, and remained hopeful.
With lots of contemplating and planning, she decided quit her full-time job. This was never a part of her plan, but it made sense. She began to dedicate herself to her creative business. She illustrated a children’s book, wrote some of her own books, and kept working hard every day on her creative talents. Of course, she struggled on some days and experienced many failures, but she kept putting her creative self out there because her heart finally felt satisfied and happy.
Do something today that sparks joy: Jumping for joy quote
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That girl is me. I cope every day with the gifts life gives me, I listen to my heart, I lean into my creative talents, I learn the lessons, work hard and I remain hopeful to this day. I am still not exactly where I want to be, but I feel closer than ever before. My original dream didn’t quite work out the way I thought it would, but I have grown to love my story and realize life is working out even better than I could have imagined.
You’re blooming beautifully, keep it up quote
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Not having a place to call home, making tough choices, losing someone close to you, and experiencing multiple failures aren’t the worst things in the world if you look at them as being the gifts that life gives you. I try hard to not forget the gifted lessons, continue to receive more gifts, and use them to fuel my “what’s next.”
Standing at a compass
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The most valuable lesson of all that I was fortunate to learn at a young age is this: Listen to your heart, lean into your talents, learn the lessons and remain hopeful despite life happening. Having this positive outlook on life like I did can help you manifest better things for yourself. To help the lessons sink in over the years, I journalled a lot.
I am thankful for the journals as I’ve been able to re-read through some of my experiences. When I do this, it serves as a reminder that keeps me moving forward. The journals are like little love notes I wrote to my future self.
One thing I also know for sure is this: Life gets dark, but then it always becomes light again. It’s a gift that blooms into the most uniquely gorgeous experience imaginable, if you allow it.
Journal Prompt Idea: Five things I am thankful for
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Want to start journalling but don’t know how to get started? I like to use a spiral bound journal and write freely. I’ve had lots of practice though. If you are in need of a journal prompt to help you get in the habit of journalling, I think a great one to start with is writing down five things you are thankful for. Then the next time you write, you can write why you are thankful for those things.