"Following Our Hearts Requires Courage"
from Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
by John Izzo
Following our hearts may involve quieting other voices that may want us to follow their dream. Ron, who was in his seventies when we met, had grown up in a family in which medicine was the profession of choice. His uncle had been a respected physician in the community, and when Ron decided to go into medicine, family and friends applauded his decision. Just before he was about to enter medical school, he went as a patient to see a gifted chiropractor. During treatment, he became acquainted with a discipline that believed in the power of the body to heal itself.
"I felt an immediate attraction to this profession and knew that it fit the contours of my soul. I knew I would be following my heart to do this. But chiropractic medicine was a big of a mystery to people at the time, so when I announced my intention, my friends let me have it. But I knew it was my path, so I had to crowd out those voices. All of my life, I have known what to do. I think it is that way for most people; they know but have to have the courage to act."
He also told me that there were two keys to following your heart—having the discipline to listen and the courage to follow.
Does following your heart mean overturning your entire life and going in a completely new direction? What I discovered is that, in some cases, we must make a radical shift in our lives to follow our hearts. Ron had to walk away from medical school to become a chiropractor. But more often than not, the people I interviewed made small shifts and slowly aligned with their true path.
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