I walked past a newsstand this morning and saw Jennifer Lopez on the cover of a magazine and started thinking about how many times she has reinvented herself since her days as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color.  She has had multiple, successful careers during the past two and a half decades including  dancer, actor, singer, American Idol judge, clothing designer, producer, and director. We have watched her transform from Jenny from the Block to a mama, a mogul and the founder of a non profit charity, Lopez Family Foundation. Along the way, she has broken ethnic barriers and become one of the top grossing Latina celebrities in entertainment, while refusing to reject her curvy body to conform to Hollywood’s idea of beauty.

I think J.Lo is onto something. Now, more than ever, having multiple careers is becoming the new norm. Perhaps this is a result of the change in our economy. Or, maybe more people are choosing to follow their ever evolving dreams. For me, it was the latter, and a desire for a more service-driven life, which led me to make a career change in my early 30’s.

I’ve been very open with my story. Perhaps that is why I receive emails daily from people  looking for guidance on how to change their career path. Most of the people who write to me, feel unsatisfied with what they are doing and want a more meaning filled career doing something that lights them up. When you feel like what you do matters it feels less like work and more like rocking your purpose in life. Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” To know you are adding value to the life of another is satisfying in a different way than simply making a lot of money.(And making lots of money doing something you love is the best case scenario in my book!)

However, for most of you, there is a block stopping you from pursuing what you dream of doing. This block usually lives between your ears in the form of your beliefs.

Believe it or not (pun intended), this is good news.

In order to live your DREAM life, you must BELIEVE it is possible @Terri_Cole (Click to Tweet!)

Changing your beliefs is not always easy, but it can be simple. Two of my top tools to help you change the way you think are meditation and visualization.

One of the most powerful benefits of meditation is self-awareness. When you allow yourself to be present, by sitting in silence and stillness daily, you are able to quiet the mind chatter that ruminates about the past or projects fearfully into the future. This mind chatter is often full of the very beliefs that keep you from pursuing your dreams. Through meditation, you can create a gap between your mafia mind, and your true self. This gap provides space for you to become aware of limiting unconscious beliefs. This awareness gives you the power to change them.

Do you want to create a life you love? You have to be able to imagine it. Visualization is the practice of creating desired feelings through thought. Most people use visualization all the time and don’t even know it! However, their focus is usually on what they don’t want. During your practice it’s important to keep your language and the affirmations positive and focused on what you DO want. Imagine yourself in your new career. Imagine where you are, what you are wearing and most importantly, how you feel. Creating your desired feelings through thought will then help you take aligned action on the path to creating your desired goals.

Both meditation and visualization impact your outcome, but they do require consistent effort and practice. Fitting both into your daily routine for only five minutes each can create massive shifts. Try them out this week and take notice of how you may be feeling differently. In the comments below, please share what parts of your life may need some reinventing and call out the beliefs that are keeping you stuck. Then below that, write a more empowering belief statement. You can use that as your affirmation this week!

Have an incredible week, and as always take care of you!

Love Love Love

Terri

Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, transformation coach, and an expert at turning fear into freedom. Sign up for Terri’s weekly Tune Up Tips and follow her on Twitter.