Our life is a blank canvas and we are all artists. From the day we are born, life lays down a number of choices for us. We get to choose the colour, texture and style of the paintings we want to become. How sad would it be if someone chooses the colour for us? What if that is not the painting we want to become?
I was invited to join Success Lodge via Facebook in December 2008 by someone very dear to me. To be frank, I was initially taken aback as I assumed this person had an ulterior motive for inviting me to the group. Nevertheless, my curiosity had the best of me and I accepted to form part of this online community, and weeks later I began receiving inspirational messages written by Claude Camilleri.. Life coaching was not new to me, I had looked into this in the past, but whenever I read articles from other life coaches, I always felt too distanced from the author. It almost felt as though I was obliged to pity my own life.
Somehow, these emails felt different. Claude claimed that he was not perfect; he was on a journey to becoming the person he wants to be just like the rest of us. In the first message I received he shared his newfound perspective on meditation, something I could easily relate to. I am blessed with a numerous family, but there have been times where I felt trapped, almost suffocated. Our new home was still under construction back then, and I was sharing my bedroom with my twin sister, this was something we had always done. We both craved the physical and emotional space, and I looked forward to dedicating fifteen minutes to meditation daily. I did this by standing in a comfortable position in peace and quiet, and focus entirely on my breathing. Immediately, I felt as though I was getting to know myself. After all these years, I felt at one with myself. my body, mind and soul had finally united.
As time went by, I continued following Claude’s journey. This was not a gossip blog, each message had its own inspirational significance, a hidden meaning, and snippets taken from his own personal experience. For a few minutes each time I felt as though someone was sharing his feelings with me, assuring me that I was not alone, and I came to realise that it is OK to feel lost, or to make mistakes. Above of all, that it is possible to rise from a fall.
Slowly but surely things started changing. I became aware that I could do so much more with my life. Consequently, my journey began...
I was finally getting to know who I really was. For the first time I was eager to become the person I had always wanted to become; this was not easy. My peers were used to seeing me fail, give up on my goals and eventually on myself. It was as though, the fact that I was unhealthy, sad and without direction was the way everybody perceived me. This projection was hard to beat, but as I began improving myself by making the most out of my days and analysing myself more closely, I could tell that they were proud of me.
My life was slowly getting back on track. I began to exercise often, eat healthily and most importantly, respect my body. My next goal was to regain my lost confidence. I attended a ‘Successlodge’ life coaching “Confidence” workshop by Claude Camilleri, along with my boyfriend in April 2008. It was such an amazing experience for both of us.I felt the need to boost my confidence when it came to approaching people whereas my partner felt he would have liked to strengthen his confidence in order to pursue his dreams. Claude moved us away of our comfort zone and challenged us to “get out of our shells and proudly show ourselves to the world.” I remember some of his words that are fixed in my mind: “We have every right to be here. We have every right to take pride in ourselves”. I felt as though the workshop had completely transformed me, and my confidence increased drastically; it really worked! My life improved and I noticed myself facing challenges instead of running away from them. I also felt I had the right to voice my opinions without feeling ashamed.
The next challenge was to listen to my own voice, I needed to fight back the negative thoughts and pursue my career. I had no direction; I did not know where to start and once again I turned to life coaching and booked myself a session with Claude who also specialises in career planning. Our session included brainstorming for over two hours.
I clearly remember him saying “You will not leave here until you give me an answer!” It was difficult at first, but by the end it was fun and exciting. He asked me what I liked doing most, what my hobbies were, and what my life philosophies included. Claude made things seem clearer to me. He saw the passion I have for life and my mission to pursuit a healthy lifestyle; combined the two, and convinced me that I was capable of actually doing this. The dream I had been nesting for a while, which was becoming a Nutritional Psychologist had finally spread its wings.
The past year has been a rollercoaster ride for me; highs and lows and dealing with twists and turns along the way. In retrospect however, I would not change a thing. My experiences have taught me immensely, and I am finally becoming the person I once dreamt of becoming.
Nowadays, I am a very energetic person. I try to make the best out of my time because I want to enjoy life by learning from my own mistakes, surrounding myself with good people, and having no regrets to look back on. I believe being positive in life attracts more positive energy. A few weeks ago, Claude Camilleri approached me and asked if I would join the SuccessLodge team. I gladly accepted, to me this was a dream come true. I was once helpless; I am now part of a community whose mission is to help people. Who would have ever thought that this was possible? My mission is to help SuccessLodge expand because I truly believe that we can make a difference and improve people’s lifestyles in the same way I improved my own.
Let us not waste any more time worrying about irrelevant things, but rather, focus on self improvement. Let us grow together and help one another in finding our own inner happiness. Let us work hand-in-hand to make our world a better place, It is never too late. Our life is a journey of learning and teaching; of creating art.
5 biblical keys to changing your life
written by Maria Stivala for the Successlodge Community
www.successlodge.com
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