You are very smart.  You have an awesome power available to you every moment of every day.  You use it all the time…you count on it to be there.  Yet, there are times when you don’t trust it.

That power is your Intuition.  Whether or not you are accustomed to tuning in to your intuition, you use it all the time.  It’s that feeling – sometimes in the pit of your stomach, in your gut, sometimes in your heart – that says “you’re on the right path” or “turn back now!” 

Intuition is often a gentle nudge in the direction that’s perfect for you in this moment.  Or, intuition can also be as powerful as a freight train…pushing you to leap out of the way! 

Intentional Intuition

Using your intuition in a more deliberate way will help you make decisions that support your dreams and desires.  You know how it feels when you try to “talk yourself into” doing something that’s not right for you.  Even the things you think you “should” do to move toward your goals may not, in fact, be right for you.  Your intuition is a great consultant.  It will help you determine what needs to be included in your plan, as well as those things you can just set free.

Playwork:

Building Your Intuition Muscle

Trusting your inner wisdom can feel awkward at first.  The first step is remembering how your intuition speaks to you.  Here’s a little exercise that can help:

Think about spending time with a person you do not enjoy – a person who is not really a good match for you.  What does it feel like when you’re preparing to see that person?  How does it feel while you’re in their company?  How do the feelings present themselves in your body – can you actually “feel” discomfort in your body just thinking of that person?  Allow yourself a moment to experience the way it feels to be in that person’s presence.

Now, imagine spending time with someone you love.  What does it feel like when you’re preparing to see this person?  How is it different than the previous visualization?  Do you immediately feel relaxed when think about this person?

All those feelings…from the loving, magnetic feelings of spending time with someone you love, to the free-floating anxiety of spending time with someone who is not a match for you…those feelings are your intuition.  The more “wrong” a situation is for you, the more you instinctively experience anxiety.  The more “right” a situation, the more you feel calm and peace. 

Think, right now, of a time when you followed your inner guidance – a time which allows you to look back and think, “I had a feeling that was the right thing to do”.   Think about how it all worked out perfectly.  Remember how it felt inside to be drawn to the choice that was best for you.

Now, think about a time when you didn’t trust your feelings and the result didn’t work as you had hoped.  Trusting your intuition can help prevent you from going against what you instinctively know is right for you.

Your assignment today, and for as long as you like, is to increase your awareness of your inner guidance.  Acknowledge times when you feel “information” coming into your awareness.  As best you can, allow your truth to keep you on the course that best serves your desires. 

Remember, your intuition is your best consultant…you know your own truth.  Trust it.

Is Over-Thinking Holding You Back?

When we moved to our current home, it looked like Jane and John Boring lived there.  White walls.  Oatmeal carpet.  White vinyl kitchen floor.  Snooooooooze. 

Boring.  Our initial reaction was, "Wow - we'll have to get some color in this house!"

So why, you might ask, did it take us over four years of living in John and Jane Boring's home before we finally put a little color on the wall?

Over-Thinking.

Instead of just making a trip to a home improvement store, choosing a few colors we liked and slapping them on the walls, we found ourselves paralyzed by too much thought.

"If we paint this wall, we'll have to paint that wall.  That means we have to coordinate colors.  What colors will go with our stuff?  What about those light fixtures - they won't match our new color.  And the furniture!  It will have to be replaced.  The carpet!  We'll need new carpet.  Window treatments!  Aaaack!"

Our little "under $100" painting project just became a 5-figure remodel! 

So, we did nothing.  For four years. 

Here's how it finally changed.  Someone had given us a home improvement store gift certificate that was about to expire.  When we realized that, we hastily chose some fun colors, bought the paint, took a day off and went for it. 

Guess what - it's lovely. 

And, guess what else - there's a lesson here.  Any action is better than inaction! 

Last month, I encouraged you to take a look around your life and uncover what your world is saying about you. 

If you're not giving the message you mean to convey, it's time to take a step.  Any step.

What's the first step you could take to move a little closer to your dream?  What step would start the momentum you need to create your most perfect self?  What do you need to do to allow yourself to take a leap forward? 

Right now - today - could you allow yourself to take that step?  Without "thinking yourself out of it"?

The paralysis of over-thinking has probably stopped you from pursuing your dreams in the past.  Haven't you waited long enough? 

One of the things I love about coaching (and for myself, being coached), is it can really help with defining a first step, developing an action to take, and encouraging a person to keep moving along the path.  Sometimes it's not so much motivation as inertia.  Coaching can be a little kick-in-the-pants!

PLAYTIME

Pick a step - choose one step you can take in the next two weeks to begin your forward momentum to your dream.  Just choose one thing. 

Now, write it down, in this type of phrasing:

"I am allowing myself to take the following step: (write it down)"

Next, look at a calendar, and set a date by which you will have taken this step.

Finally - tell someone, and ask that person to inquire about your progress.

Happy Journeys!

Usually…eventually…if I’m persistent, it turns up.  That’s how I recently found my eyeglasses in the freezer.  Don’t ask.

I propose a similar technique for identifying your dreams.  Excluding, of course, the frantic part – it seems a bit unnecessary. 

If it suits you, perhaps you could grab a note pad and actually jot down what you find.  The answers might surprise you.

Step one:  Give your life a “surface” look.

Look around the area you’re in right now.  What are you surrounded by?  What sorts of pictures are on your wall and books on your shelves?  What colors do you surround yourself with?  What sorts of furniture do you choose?  Do you like to hang on to things, or do you easily let go of that which you’re no longer using?

Pretend, for a moment, you’re a social anthropologist, and you’ve been sent in to learn the personality of an unusual tribe of strangers.  Pretend you’re walking into your home or office for the very first time.  What do the things you see tell you about this person?

Take a moment and jot down your impressions of the stranger who inhabits this space.  What do the surroundings state about that person’s dream?

Step two:  Go a little deeper

Now that you have an idea of what this person is like, continue in anthropologist mode and make some assumptions about the person you’re investigating. 

What does this person care about?

Who does this person love?

What are this person’s habits?

What things are important to this person?

Where does this person find inspiration?

Where does this person lose energy?

With what does this person struggle?

Again, jot down your notes about your deeper investigation of this person.  What more do these questions tell you about this person’s dream?

Step three:  Retrace your steps

Take off your anthropologist hat and let’s go back through your life.  Again, if it feels useful, jot down the answers to these questions:

What did you think you would be when you grew up? 

When you were in middle school (or junior high school), what did you enjoy doing? 

Who was your best friend in high school?  What did you like about that person?

Think about your first infatuation.  What traits do you still remember about that person? 

As a young adult, what things did you put on the “back burner”?

If you had unlimited time, energy and funds as a young adult, what would you have chosen to do?

Wherever you are right now, if everything was exactly perfect, what would your life look like?

What have you found?

As you ask yourself these questions, it’s likely that many images will surface for you.  You may end up with more questions than answers.  But that’s OK, because you have taken a big step.  You’re now aware of what coaches call “the gap”.  It’s the space between where you are right now, and where you’d love to be.  Coaching can be a very effective way to bridge that!

As you begin to identify those big goals and big dreams, just welcome whatever comes up for you, without trying to evaluate or scrutinize them.  Just follow wherever they lead.

Two questions to contemplate as you define your dream:

• What is present when you are “at your best”?
• What are you resisting?

PLAYTIME

Take a moment each day to step outside the window of your life and peek in as though you were watching a stranger.  What do your choices say about you…and is that the message you mean to convey about yourself?