In the photograph, a beaming six year old me has won the lottery.
The brother is real but the parents are fake, and we didn’t really win the lottery (it was for a lottery advertisement). Finding this photo got me thinking about “the lottery test” and how you can use it as a guide to help you find your unique gifts.
Each one of us has a unique gift to fulfil a life purpose; there is only one of you in this world after all!
In yoga we call your ‘true life path’ your “dharma”. Finding your dharma can take some work, but the great news is that your unique gifts are already within you, it’s just a case of unearthing and then nurturing what’s already there!
As we become adults we often shit on our dreams, burying them deep within our subconscious. Luckily shit is fertiliser, and your gifts are still there quietly waiting to grow.
Often we select a more rational career path because we need to make more money, we need to be 'successful,' we need to pay for our mortgage/car/holiday etc.
I worked for 12 years in corporate companies, working long hours, making good money, but feeling unfulfilled and too exhausted to enjoy the money I’d made. Sound familiar? It never ‘felt right’ because I was not following my dharma.
Ok, so here’s how you can unearth your dharma using “the lottery test” as well as some other suggestions:
1. What would you do if you won the lottery?
Not what would you buy, what would you do? You can use this lottery test to help guide you as it allows you to use your heart as your compass rather than the rational mind.
Having recently quit my corporate job to start my own yoga business this is the first time in my life that I can say that if I won the lottery I would be doing what I’m doing now (OK, I'd also buy a place on Meghan Currie's yoga retreat!)
2. What brings you joy?
Create a list of all the things that brings you joy. What are the things that make you forget time and get lost in the moment? What are you good at?
3. Listen to the signs
Pay attention to synchronicity. Life is very incredible at guiding you if you pay attention to the signs.
4. Reprogram what success means to you
Ask yourself if you are living other people’s version of success, or your own. We could be mirroring what success means to our parents, our friends, or our peers. Living other people's version of success feeds your ego, not your soul.
By redefining my version of success I now know that for me it means working for myself, doing work that helps people, working less hours to allow time to study, being able to work from anywhere in the world, making more money than I did in my corporate job. I’ve achieved three out of five so far, but I truly believe all of it is achievable.
5. Practice connecting to your higher self
You can do this through yoga, meditation, walking in nature. By doing this I find I have the most clarity and have ‘eureka’ moments.
6. Believe that anything is possible
Believe that anything is possible, because it is. Have courage to explore every avenue even if your inner critic gives you a million reasons why you shouldn’t.
7. Nurture your talents
Once you start to unearth your special talents, start nurturing them. Dedicate time to practice them and improve them. Take a course or read a book to deepen your knowledge. Speak to other people who are doing what you what want to do to be inspired - if they can do it, so can you.
8. How can your unique gifts help other people?
Now this is where the magic happens. How can your unique gifts help other people? By connecting your unique gifts to the service of others, you create abundance in your life and in the lives of others.
Finding your unique gifts is a journey with many twists and turns, so be patient, you will find it.
If you already know your dharma but aren’t fulfilling it, have a think about what is blocking you from doing it and how you can make small steps to overcome those blocks. Start making those small steps today.
Denying yourself your gifts, is denying yourself, your family, your friends, the world something special.
Start with “the lottery test”, find your gift, nurture it, share it with the world, and you’ll unearth your true fortune.