Louise Thompson: The secret to making 2015 count

It's so easy for us to 'get by', day after day, not truly connected with what makes us happy and fulfilling our life's purpose. Photo / 123RF

There are many different dreams of a more fulfilling life. Each dream as unique as the person. However, the underlying reason we don't step up and move toward our dreams is usually the same. Do any of these ring a bell with you?

• The middle-manager who really wants to be a nutritionist but is scared it won't work out and won't make money.

• The gorgeous girl who has been unlucky in love and is reluctant to get into online dating, or, who does it, but then cancels the dates at the last minute.

• The busy mum who wants to get fit but can't get a consistent exercise programme going.

• The new lawyer who graduated with a hard-won degree but absolutely loathes dragging themselves in to the law office each day, slapping on a brave game face and getting on with it, despite the misery.

• The dad who loves his family but hates his job, but can't leave because he is the breadwinner.

• The girl who wants to travel and do the OE but has no one to go with so doesn't book it and never goes.

• The girl who does the part-time training in massage and wants to make a full-time living out of it, but is too scared to make the leap.

• The spouse who is desperately unhappy but can't have the conversation to either improve or leave the marriage.

It's so easy for us to "get by", day after day, not truly connected with what makes us happy and fulfilling our life's purpose. And then the next day, and the next day after that. And before we know it, years have gone by in the "it's okay" zone, but the amount of time we feel truly connected, alive and at peace is next to nothing.

Why? The number one reason I see people holding themselves back is a fear that on some level they won't be "good enough".

• Not good enough to make a new business in the wellbeing field; make enough money and be successful enough to support a good lifestyle.

• Not good enough to trust that there is a loving and respectful partner out there. Not good enough to be loved completely and be loved in return.

• Not good enough to put herself and the needs of her body first sometimes, that doing that will mean she is a not good enough mum, that she is selfish.

• Not good enough to pack in the shiny yet unfulfilling career path and do something that the family might not approve of. Not good enough to stand up to the inevitable familial pressure.

• Not good enough to make the break and create a career change that is bold, yet pragmatic. Not good enough to make the leap.

• Not good enough to make friends along the trail. What if people don't like me? What if I never meet anyone?

• Not good enough to do the non-traditional thing. That's for other people, the brave ones who are good enough. More talented. More special.

• Not good enough to make a stand and stick to it. Not good enough to live my own life and make an independent life. I'll never make it work.

Not good enough is a universal fear. It's also a universal lie. Believing it keeps us playing small in the world. It dashes countless hopes and dreams. It's an all-pervasive, silent assassin of living our life's purpose.

When you look around at people who are living their life's mission, what do you see? You see that they do feel good enough to give it a go. To back themselves. To trust that when they are honouring the messages of their soul, things will work out. That they have the courage, resilience and passion to overcome any obstacle.

People who are living their life's purpose don't wait to feel good enough to make it happen. They know that feeling comes from the action of leaping towards their passion.

Because here's the secret they are in on - you are already good enough.

Why? Because "Good Enough" is an impossible standard to define. When you think about it, what does it even mean? Define for me someone who is good enough? Hard, right? We are all imperfectly perfect. No-one, and everyone, is already good enough.

If we wait to feel good enough on some level before summoning the courage to live the life we know we are meant to live, we will be waiting a very long time. We have to take action before we feel good enough, in the knowledge that the truth is we are already more than good enough to handle whatever comes up.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is proceeding with your soul's calling despite the fear.

You are already good enough. You can do this.

Make 2015 count.