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How to cultivate the trust & courage to live the life of your dreams

By Dagmar Spremberg on 01 March 2017

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I left my country, my husband and job behind when I turned 30. It was the scariest decision of my life, but in retrospect probably the Best. What I learned in those years after the big change was how to cultivate the trust & courage to live the life of your dreams. I moved first to Los Angeles, then to New York and ended up moving to Costa Rica in 2001, after the twin towers fell.

It was a quite interesting journey of ups and downs and definitely not a straight line. If anybody would have told me 20 years ago that I would become a yoga teacher in Costa Rica, I probably would have laughed and said: “Sounds nice, but how would that ever happen? Me?”

I am happy to share with you some of the lessons I learned and the tools that helped me to create the life of my dreams, because I believe we all deserve to life an authentic, fulfilling life.

But first, let me define courage: I am not only referring to the courage to fight for something, but rather to the courage to soften and to be vulnerable, the courage to fail.

Here’s some inspiration for you, if you are ready for a change in your life:

 

1.Find Your Vision

Often we only are aware of the things we don’t want anymore: we are bored in the job, burned out, tired of the relationship, unhappy and empty inside. We go in circles and try to find solutions to the problem and how we can make things change.

Here is step 1: Learn to focus on the good. Instead of thinking what you don’t like, start dreaming and becoming aware of your vision.

How? Here are some valuable tools:

Find a writing exercise that resonates with you, you can find many suggestions online, or simply try the morning pages from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. A very powerful tool for me was to make Gratitude lists. Or if you like to get your hands onto some magazines and get creative, I loved making vision boards and then I would put them on my fridge and look at them regularly, visualise myself already being there and updating them when ideas changed. Here you can find great design templates for your vision board if you like inspiration,

2. Surround yourself with people that inspire you and already live your dream.

Even when you think it’s not for you yet, be aware of people that inspire you and WHY they do. Ask them how they do it, what’s their story and see what you can learn from their story for yourself. For example I was always fascinated by happy couples and would ask them their secret, instead of focusing on the breaking up stories in my tribe. When I came the first time as a tourist to Montezuma in 1991, I stayed at Amor de Mar Hotel and watched the german owner living my dream and it created a seed in my being, even though at that moment I just thought somebody else is living my dream.

Or read inspirational books and stories that can help refine your purpose and why.

3. Nourish yourself.

Find clarity, get support from your body. Eat well. Stop using drugs and numbing yourself, instead enjoy getting clear.

Find activities that light you up, empower you and make you feel connected like yoga & meditation. When you create space in your body, your mind follows. New doors open. Yoga is the best way to create a new sense of being alive  and connected that maybe you found before only in experimenting with drugs.

Can’t do it alone? Find support! I love a good coach and explored relationship coaching, nutrition coaching and business coaching and it has always empowered me tremendously to take the necessary steps and move forward.

 

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photo by Julie Ansiau

4. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Remember: you have all the tools you need already.

Don’t let your inner critic stop you. We all have self doubt moments, we rather keep ourselves small, we think we don’t deserve our dream or we are not good enough.

Time to become friends with these voices. Instead of pushing them away, listen carefully what they have to say and what feeds them. Often they are conditioned from our past, the voice from your mother, teacher, ex boyfriend. Listen carefully and then thank them and tell them you will move forward anyway.

5. Don’t be afraid to get lost.

This journey is not a straight line. You will have success and move forward, you will have setbacks and failure and heartbreak happening, but this is the yin and yang of life. There is no happiness without sadness and no light without shadow. Learn to flow through life and take enough moments to pause, reflect and collect your energy, then take the next step. There is no deadline, there is no rush, the journey is what makes it exciting, not the end goal.

Find moments of stillness, check in with yourself, are you serving your heart, your vision, your purpose or are you making wrong compromises to please somebody else? Can you stand up for your needs and speak your truth? When what you do (why) comes from your heart the universe will deliver in the most magical ways.

6. Trust in yourself and the process.

The practice is a constant opening and receiving of your inner voice and outer synchronicity. Be open to offerings from the outside. Make yourself available. Tell people your dreams.

When an opportunity arises that feels delicious say yes and jump into it. Every little opportunity that feels like a YES strengthens our sense of trust and courage. Take little steps, stay in the moment and focus on seeing the beauty in life. It’s a constant practice not to feed negativity and doubt.

 

I truly wish for you to find the encouragement and support to live the life of your dreams. If this has inspired you please let me know below in the comments or drop me an email. We are in this together and I feel deeply grateful to the people in my life that inspired me to keep dreaming, so I would be very happy if I can inspire your journey as well.

With gratitude. Dagmar

 

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Dagmar Spremberg is a 500hr E-RYT and the founder and director of Montezuma Yoga. She enjoys living in Costa Rica with her beloved and 2 cats for most of the year, if not traveling to teach yoga retreats and classes in some of the most beautiful places on the planet. To find out more about Dagmar please click here.

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By Dagmar Spremberg on March 1, 2017 / , , /

14 Comments

  1. Sonja on March 1, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    Dear Dagmar,
    thank you so much for sharing some important points of your journey to your life of your dreams…
    …it’s exactly what I needed at the very moment… as I try to keep faith and to not give up my dream to have that life in India… but it’s since such a long time like 2 steps forward and 1 back or even a still standing… it’s a marathon .. and sometimes I feel so exhausted… nobody helping me or giving support… that’s exhausting too… but I stick to my dream… no way to give up.
    Than you from the bottom of my heart for showing dreams can come true…! Big hug, Sonja

    • Dagmar Spremberg on March 1, 2017 at 10:07 pm

      Hi Sonia, thanks for your comment, i feel it is important to share these thoughts and fears, so that we can all support and inspire each other. It’s never juts walking forward, setbacks and steps back are part of the deal and it’s good to keep reflecting, sometimes we realise the dream is changing. I felt many times exhausted too, ran out of money etc., but the yoga always kept me grounded and connected again, so stay with your practice to remain grounded in yourself. And stick to the people who see you and love you for dreaming big! I wish you all the luck and support in the world, thanks for not giving up!

  2. Lauren Brownstein on March 1, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    Great, inspirational post! I especially like what you wrote about the courage to soften. Thank you!

    • Dagmar Spremberg on March 1, 2017 at 10:23 pm

      Thanks Lauren, the softening part was probably the most challenging for me 😉 Didn’t learn that growing up in Germany! Hope all is well for you, sending jungle hugs!

  3. Fauve on April 28, 2017 at 4:10 am

    Dear Dagmar

    Thank you so much for this. I wanted to take a moment to tell you that this blog post – and the “5 Handpicked Yoga Retreats For Solo Female Travellers In Costa Rica” on the Montezuma Yoga website – recently inspired me to make some changes – to take some time for myself, rid my mind of toxic thinking and reconnect and recharge. I have actually just come back from 2.5 weeks in Montezuma doing the Yoga&Spanish package with Montezuma Yoga (I think I just missed your return by a day or two) and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It gave me the chance to breathe deeply again and to reflect – on my life, on what the world has to offer and what I have to offer the world. It is a moment I feel so grateful for and one I hope to repeat soon!

    Thank you again,
    Fauve

    • Dagmar Spremberg on April 28, 2017 at 6:04 pm

      Dear Fauve, thank you so much for your beautiful post and sharing your powerful experience! I am sorry I missed you this time, but I hope we get another chance to meet again! Please stay connected and keep the good spirit up! With love from Montezuma, Dagmar

  4. Karin Nikbakht on April 29, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    Love to read your story! It is inspiring… :-)) yes I feel it is important to keep my vision in my heart! I have also a beautiful vision of bying a house in greece and opening up a kind of retreat center … next month I go there and look for plots, therefore your post is a helpful piece for me! Thank you!

    I also feel it is very powerful to live like if I am already live my vision. To dream myself into this state of being and to act like if I am already inside the center of my vision and live it!

    A very important topic… and a very playful and wonderful thing… creating a life out of our visions.. Sending love to Costa Rica

    Karin

    • Dagmar Spremberg on April 29, 2017 at 5:40 pm

      Thank you Karin, that sounds like a lovely vision and i keep my fingers crossed for you to make that dream a reality. And yes, visualizing yourself already being there is a powerful way of manifesting, i did that many times myself about my next relationship and what i wanted it to feel like….and then i met daniel 8 years ago 😉 it totally worked! love right back at you! Dagmar

  5. Jane Byde on April 30, 2017 at 8:40 am

    How wonderful to read this post, which is a reminder of the wisdom you share on your retreats. For me, two years ago, you sewed the seed of opening up to the dream and the fear; visualising, having faith and giving yourself kindness. It’s definitely not an easy path, but at least, two years on, I’m ON the path towards working in the arts and becoming a writer! What an inspiration you are xx

    • Dagmar Spremberg on April 30, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      love you Jane!

  6. caro on February 17, 2018 at 3:57 am

    Incredibly inspiring share!!!!

  7. Maz on April 15, 2018 at 6:08 am

    I just found your website and blogs since ‘discovering the beautiful Yin Yoga. I just wanted to say thank you for your generous and open sharing of your journey so far. How inspiring it is to read all of your encouragement and support.

    • Dagmar Spremberg on April 15, 2018 at 6:56 pm

      Thank you so much! I am grateful for the people who inspired me, so if I can give that back and inspire others it makes me really happy! All the Best to you!

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