Don't be afraid to be yourself.

Horses live in the moment. Here Dolly is having a good old roll. Is she worried who can see her? what she looks like? No she is having fun!

Maybe she looks like us on a bad night out, but her fun is hurting no-one, it has no consequences to regret and it would give me something to do brushing off the mud.

We so often live our lives to suit others.

We grow up trying to meet our parents expectations or determined we will not be like them.

We give in to people around us in the name of co-operation, compromise or keeping the peace.

Some of us live our lives being told how to live and what to do, maybe because of fear or some other kind of control.

When we please others to a large degree then we may not realise that we have no opinions of our own, or those opinions are buried so deep we don't even know we have them

Maybe we do things just to not be like other people

But is that what we really want our life to be?

Most of us have someone in our lives who manages to control us.

It may be our mother, father, siblings, our partner,

 our kids or even our friends,.

Now I am not saying we shouldn't compromise sometimes. We are not islands and we have to get along with those around us. Our whole lives are restricted by people and circumstances around us. A boss who expects us (quite rightly) to arrive on time for work. A partner who needs help with something. Our children who need our time and care. Most of the time this is not a problem. We love, like or need these people in our lives and so we share our lives and our responsibilities.

The problems arise when we are always the ones who give in. This is when we need to find and set our boundaries.

I have covered boundaries on a different page and you may have just come from there, but now you really need to start to understand who YOU are.

This is all about you.

What makes you happy?

What makes your heart sing?

Being yourself makes you a more interesting person. You have an interest you feel passionate about and can talk about it to like minded people but also to people that know nothing about what you love. Your passion will make people want to listen.

I have a friend who has put a lot of time and money into starting a business she is passionate about. Last week she told me that she had done a talk on why she was doing this business and afterwards someone had said to her "I don't need what you are selling, but as I listened to you I wanted to know how you were going to solve the problems you have identified in this business. The way you spoke just drew me in because you were so passionate about what you believe."

Here is a quote from the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A fable about following your dreams.

"Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him, "his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, towards it's own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path that is laid out for them - the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place"

 "So we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: We don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

So now let us find the real you!

What is it that is in your heart?

What drives you?

How would you love to live your life?

Whatever it is start searching, start looking for ways to bring that dream into your life.

If you want to be a singer but cannot sing, then look for ways to work in the music industry. Look for courses about music, writing, playing an instrument. Some other way to express your deepest desires.

If you love animals but can't have pets then do a care course, help out at the local rescue centre, there are more than you think. If you have experience start doing dog walking or pet sitting. If you don't have the academic skill to be a vet then how about a veterinary nurse, or even a vets receptionist. There are always ways. You just have to look.

If you want to do sports join a local club. Even if you are hopeless at sport still join they always need helpers. Get involved you never know where it may lead.

What ever your dream is, it will never leave you.

Sit quiet, find your inner peace and listen to your heart.

If you can't identify your dream straight away do not worry. Start doing something that interests you.

You may find you change direction a few times while you learn to listen to your heart.

You are on the internet now. The world is your oyster. start with Google and let your heart lead you.