"Never fear the thing you feel --Only by love is life made real."

-Sara Teasdale

I finally got an opportunity to do Danielle LaPort's Fire Starter Sessions, for real and in full. Last year, I went off a post she did --right before the 2015 new year. This time, I used her workbook.

Creative

Confident

Love

Lit up

God-filled

Those are my 5 Core-Desired feelings for 2016.

The morning of this recent New Year's eve, myself and my partner took the time and wrote the things we needed to feel...no exceptions, for 2016.

There is my list.

Every day. I've committed myself to this goal. Not to the "business as usual" task, objective, or project that needs to be completed. I start with how I want to feel for the day, week, and month. And align my tasks, objectives or projects around it. No exceptions, disprove the rule.

[Tweet "No exceptions, disprove the rule."]

If it doesn't make me feel:

Creative

Confident

Love

Lit up

God-filled

I won't do it.

Because the goal is always to feel gooood. Keeping your energy high and the focus on the value of the journey, rather than the destination.

Giving yourself and others boundaries, setting your own standard, and making sure --what is legendary about you, bleeds through.That je ne sais quois vibe.

How long can you deny what you feel? How long will you do things, according to the "rules"?

I realized the destination is never what I envision, anyway. But the feeling, always seemed to match up to the way I felt throughout the majority of the ride getting there.

Anxiety, nervous, stressed, exhausted. <--- I chose to let these go.

This writing thing is based off feelings too. Even though feelings can be erratic, unpredictable and unreliable (they do have a tendency to switch up on you, don't they?)...

That's where you get real raw expressions of the tongue.

That's where your words come to life. That's when you feel most alive. That's where you become human with flaws and the once masked scars, start to show.

The good stuff. The real stuff. The rawness.

The kind of real raw expression people connect with or the very least, elicits an emotional response.

That's what I want.

For you to feel.

And not shut your eyes, and let the senses go numb. Be uninspired, bored, or tired...

To not have your writing numbed, uninspired, boring, or tired.

To not have to one day look in the mirror & see what you've become...numb.

Do you see why now, this is necessary? Do you see why, your writing needs heart?

Once I decided, through a process of elimination, my top 5 Core-Desired feelings. For each one, I asked myself this question 3X:

What does "__________" feel like? (x3)

(to pull out, how I really felt about these words. Or better yet, what these words felt about me)

Here are my responses...

What does "creative" feel like...(x3)

Freedom
A space to be me
Removes barriers (imagination ignited)

What does "confidence" feel like...(x3)

Sexy
Prepared
Like "I got this!"

What does "love" feel like...(x3)

Overflow
A long deep embrace
Unwavering support
(laughter + family)

What does "lit up" feel like...(x3)

Excitement
Pure bliss
Adventure
Glee + big ass smiles

What does "God-filled" feel like...(x3)

Warmth
Joy
Gratitude
Favor
Connected

Can you imagine, feeling like this every day??

The tasks, objectives or projects you'd easily complete...or not. (If the feeling is not a core desire).

Of course, there will be days that rip you apart and leave you questioning everything you firmly knew. And in those moments, these feelings become your nudge --back on your path.

Right back into your most desired feeling...

Can you imagine, the writing that could come out of it?

The power of controlling what your day, week, month and year, would feel like?

I can.

It will feel like hand-stitched, 1500 thread count, 22-carat gold bed sheets.

Yes, just like that.

I can picture myself rolling around and sniffing in the luxury of those bed sheets feelings.

So, I ask you...

What does "hand-stitched, 1500 thread count, 22-carat gold bed sheets" feel like? (No exceptions.)