Seriously Getting into Alignment with Your Joy & Purpose

Who is familiar with the 1998 movie entitled, Hope Floats starring Sandra Bullock and Harrick Connick, Jr.? 🖐🏽 I’m such a big fan of the movie I created an entire River Goddess Retreat that was held in Smithville, Texas on the dates of the Jamboree. Yes, I did.

This is where I will begin with my reveal. Below is a scene from the movie that kept whispering in my ear for the past year. In particular, ” … At the end, you can’t find a trace of what you started out lovin’,” Justin Matisse

• Birdee Pruitt: Who’s the architect?
• Justin Matisse: You’re kiddin’, huh?… That’s half the fun.
• Birdee Pruitt: You go around Smithville paintin’ houses, and you can do this?
• Justin Matisse: Yeah.
• Birdee Pruitt: You could… you could do so much more.
• Justin Matisse: I guess so, huh?
• Birdee Pruitt: You know what I meant.
• Justin Matisse: I know exactly what you meant. You’re talkin’ ’bout the American Dream. You find something that you love, and then you twist it, and you torture it, try and find a way to make money at it. You spend a lifetime doing that. At the end, you can’t find a trace of what you started out lovin’. What did you start out lovin’?
• Birdee Pruitt: [very softly] I don’t remember.
• Justin Matisse: For me it was doin’ things right, that’s all. That’s why I came back here; so I could live the way I wanted. I don’t know, I figured out of everybody, you’d understand that.
• Birdee Pruitt: I do. I envy you. Everything you love is right here.
• Justin Matisse: Not everything, Birdee.

You see, Justin left Smithville to chase a dream, leaving behind what really mattered.

I’m a bit like Justin Matisse! So let me just get to it …

Dream Job Ends: A Teacher’s Journey to Authenticity

I stepped down as the US Heal Your Life® Teacher & Coach Trainer at the end of October. If you haven’t yet heard this, can you even believe it?

This position was a dream of mine when I took my initial training seventeen years ago. And what a journey it was! Seven years, thirteen+ trainings, and over 100 people certified. We even muscled through the challenges of the pandemic to conduct in-person events!! But (intentional use) my light was dimming. Over the past year, tears of frustration, anxiety, stress, and the feelings of “not-enough-ness” had begun to permeate my being. It was only when my loving husband overheard my tears and said these words to me, that I began to really dig deep to determine what was happening.

Here is what he said, “Sandra, this is no way for you, a Louise Hay Teacher & Coach Trainer to be living your Life. I see you crying and that’s not what Louise would want for you.”

What did I do next? Firstly, I wrote in my Morning Pages daily. Next, I reached out to my incredible network of amazingly strong and supportive women (who are also coaches) and found my truth.

How did I feel? Scared out of my mind! Afterall, I’m a recovering people pleaser and disappointing anyone or potentially doing so was eating me up inside.

Healing, Grace, and Relaxation: The Magic Happens

Yet, my soul was stirring. Afterall, I turned sixty last year. If not now, then when? It finally became clear to me when I was seated on a park bench on the island. All by myself with no training sessions to lead or participants to ensure were happy. I realized I hadn’t enjoyed the beach, in a very long time. Oh, we held our coach trainings there, but I was always working! And the whole reason we moved to Florida was to be close to Anna Maria Island (We live only six miles away).

Somewhere along the way, I, like Justin Matisse, had chased a dream and it was time to return “home.” Home being a metaphor for what lights me up, energizes me, gets me up and out of bed to engage in.

I guess you could say that I moved from the SHOULD to the COULD. Hooray! And this my lovelies, is where the magic happens. Am I still licensed as a Heal Your Life® Teacher, Coach, and Trainer? Yes. Only now my focus has shifted to working more closely with my personal clients in a coach setting and offering the Teen Teacher Trainings, globally.

Some of the biggest gifts I have given myself through this process are authenticity, compassion, creativity, healing, grace, and relaxation. Wow! Does it all feel so damn good.

This is also what I want for you. To seriously get into alignment with your joy & purpose no matter what.

Note: It was an honor to serve in that capacity! And my teachers & coaches will always hold a very special place in my heart. Plus, I’m not going anywhere other than to make magic whenever I can.

Sandra J. Filer, MBA, is a high energy believer in the human capacity to achieve whatever the mind can conceive. She specializes in working with ambitious women seeking fulfillment in their Life and work. Her approach is heartfelt, effective and immediately applicable.  Also known as The Happy Goddess®, her ultimate goal is to guide her clients far away from that inner critic and deeply into self-love and appreciation.