What It Actually Means to Live with Heart

For the better part of five years, I've been trying to figure out what it means "to live with heart" or to "be heart-centered".

Today, I'm sharing my progress in this quest... and I hope you will be kind enough to give me your feedback. Does this make sense? Is it helpful? Am I on the right track?

In this realm, people sometimes offer some pretty vague guidance, such as "get in touch with your heart". Or, as a coach used to tell me as soon as I walked in his door, "Bruce, you're in your head. Shift your energy down into your heart."

Not helpful.

I have been searching for a few words I could remember and live by. Words that made sense, and that gave me direction that lasted beyond logic. Here's what unfolded for me:

H - Heart

• What It Means: Feel your feelings and follow your passions.
• Why It Matters: As soon as you stop feeling one emotion, you stop feeling them all. Plus, you minimize your ability to be intuitive and highly connected. Then, you start doing things because you "should" instead of because they are the right path for you.

E - Expansiveness

• What It Means: Stay upbeat, energized, and open to possibility. Avoid contraction. Make decisions out of love, rather than fear.
• Why It Matters: Life expands in the direction of your mindset and energy. The more positive you are, the more positive you will feel in the days ahead. Your emotions and attitude are literally contagious.

A - Alignment

• What It Means: Match your actions to your intentions, values, and goals.
• Why It Matters: When your actions align with your purpose, you build momentum in the right directions.

R - Repetition

• What It Means: Develop habits and best practices that fuel your intentions.
• Why It Matters: Small, consistent efforts turn intentions into progress. This is where head and heart start to work in sync. Even in the heart space, you must be willing to do the work.

T - Transform

• What It Means: Let go of limiting beliefs and attachments. Become your best self.
• Why It Matters: You can do all the work, and still not reach your goals. The difference can be as simple as your willingness to let go of all the internal baggage you have accumulated over the years. When you complete the other four steps and let go, you create the conditions that allow the real you to manifest.

For much of my life, I was stuck on step one. Logic often replaced emotion. I thought, rather than felt. It has literally been a revelation to me that the healthiest path is to both feel as well as think. The winning combination is heart and head.

If this resonates with enough people, in the coming weeks, we'll dive into what it feels like to go down this path... and how you can get started, if this is a new direction for you.

P.S. I welcome all your suggestions and stories! What does it feel like to be you?

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