Travelling gives you such an incredible opportunity to take a step out of the details of your day to day life and really look in on your circumstances from a far. It gave me a chance to take a much needed time out and re-evaluate my priorities and values. I was able to look at all of my relationships and re-assess who was adding value to my life, whose life I was adding value to and how I could do it better. I was able to recaliberate the surroundings I would be coming back to so that they would bring out the best in me and those around me. I vowed that when I returned I would only surround myself with positive people who saw the world for it’s endless possibilities (not for it’s percieved limitations) and who I could build mutually beneficial relationships with – we could contribute to each others lives, make each other better human beings, push each other to achieve our greatest goals and hold each other accountable to always playing big with our visions for the future. Since I put that vibe out there a few years ago, I have had the privilege of connecting with some amazing, like really amazing, people who 100% fit the bill.

It’s incredible what happens when you make a decision and put the vibe (thoughts, intentions, whatever you want call it) out for what you want. I’m sure it’s happen to you before at least once. If you’ve recognized it’s power and have played with it a bit, good on you! If you haven’t taken a second to look back and connect the dots between your intentions and your reality, I encourage you to try it. Think about the job/career you have, your friends, your finances, your health, your happiness, the people you spend your day with – are they contributing to your best life? What kind of vibes are you putting out? (positive or not?) How it is showing up? (positive or not?)

I can give you a tangible personal example: I gave a up a full-ride scholarship playing volleyball in the US to come back to Canada and play volleyball here while paying for my education on my own. Some of you might be thinking – you’re nuts – but I don’t regret it for one second. Did I have money to pay my way through school? Not even close. Did I have family to help me pay for it? Nope. Was I scared of how I was going to do it? You bet. I was on my own. I made the decision to leave the US based on my values and what was important to me and when I weighed that against one of the biggest things keeping me there at the time (money), it was a no brainer. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I declared that I would graduate from university with no debt, wrote it on a piece of paper, and tacked it in the center of my vision board.    Boom – things just started happening – money was definitely not thrown at me and boy did I work hard for it, but my mindset and as a result my actions changed. The creativity started flowing in terms of how I could support myself – while playing volleyball, while studying and volunteering. It was tough, but lets just say 4 years later I graduated university debt free.

You don’t have to leave the country to reflect on the quality of your relationships, thoughts, finances, health and general circumstances. One exercise you can do is find a quiet place that relaxes you and make a list of the people you spend most of your time with, then go through the list again and think about how spending time with each of them makes you feel – do you feel happy and inspired? or drained and unmotivated? If they were to call you at this very second, would you be excited to answer the phone? or debate turning off your ringer? This is a pretty clear sign…stick with those that motivate you and perhaps it’s time to shed those that don’t.

At the beginning of each day, you get to choose what vibes you put out and where your time and energy goes – believing that you have a choice is one of the hardest things to grasp yet one of the most empowering when you do. I chose to be around those who inspire me – Go Getter’s and Big Hairy Audacious Goal setter’s inspire me – if you’re a runner, I want to run with you!

What do you choose?