Allow yourself to daydream. Scientists say it’s one of our most complicated activities. Daydreaming helps us to shape ourselves and become aware of those things we have felt without thinking. The heart has a quiet voice. Do nothing and allow insights to unfold. Often the emptiness precedes stumbling across the unexpected. Being bored is important sometimes. The human brain does more if allowed to slow down from time to time to do the essential work of rearranging your mind. The aching dullness is often the catalyst for better things and breakthroughs.
Look for the clues. Tune into your body barometer. In the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker asks Yoda, the wise one, "How am I to know the good from the bad?' Yoda answers, "You will know through peace and calm." When your heart’s aligned it will “feel” good within your body. Peace and calm or excitement and anticipation are all signs of the path with heart.
Gratitudes – if you can’t have the job or life you love, love the one you have. Find ways to appreciate the things that are good about what you have right now. Sometimes we can get so caught up in focusing on what is missing that we forget to be grateful for what we have. Gratefulness changes your body chemistry making it more likely you will attract more positive things into your life. In a similar way, if people annoy you, try changing your focus by identifying things that are good about them. Nobody is that bad!
Freeze-frame – Intuitive counsellor Lynn Robinson recently shared a great technique from The HeartMath Institute in Boulder Creek. Like Lynn I have found it very helpful to use when my anxiety threatens to block out insightful, intuitive, heart based messages. Here’s what Lynn had to say:
“Doc Childre is the founder of the program and author of the book, The HeartMath Solution. He explains, “When we're internally self-managed — feeling balanced, in control, and powerful — we make our greatest contribution. We act, not react. We think creatively. We communicate clearly. We manage well under pressure. We make good decisions. Our most inspiring leadership qualities emerge. When dozens, hundreds, thousands of employees work in that zone of peak performance, so does the organization.”
If you’re wondering how to use this information next time you’re in a crisis or simply feeling anxious, try the following technique:
- Recognize the stressful feeling and Freeze-Frame it. In other words, take time out. For example, see your problem as a still picture, not a movie. Stop the inner conversation you’re having about the situation.
- Make a sincere effort to shift your focus away from your racing mind or disturbed emotions, and concentrate on the space around your heart. Pretend you're breathing through your heart to help focus your energy in this area. Keep your focus there for ten seconds or more.
- Bring to mind a positive feeling, or recall a time in your life when you were having fun. Hold that feeling for a few moments.
- Now, using your intuition, ask your heart what would be a more efficient response to the situation — one that would minimize stress?
- Listen to what your heart says in answer to your question. It's an effective way to put your reactive mind and emotions in check. It’s like having an “in-house” source of wise solutions.
You may hear nothing, yet feel calmer. You may receive confirmation of something you already know, or you may experience a complete perspective shift, seeing the problem in a more balanced way. Although you may not have control over the event, you do have control over your perception of it and reaction to it. “
Do something you love. Doing something you love career-wise may be the ideal but if that is not possible right now dust off a hobby or start a new one. You never know where this may lead. Even if it doesn’t lead to a new career it will boost your dopamine levels – the body’s natural opiates - giving you an instant high.
Sculpt your ideal role. If you are not in love with the job you have currently, or are wanting to begin something entirely new, design a job you could love. Build your ideal role in your mind’s eye by visualizing and listing all the ingredients that would give you a buzz and then test the “reality” of this role by doing some hands on research.
Every job I have ever truly enjoyed I have created on paper first and then set off looking for people and organisations that I could bring my vision to. In later years I created my own business. Maybe this is something that could appeal to you? Contact me if you would like some personalised business coaching - helping others to walk down the road of self-destiny is my passion!
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Inspirational Quotes
“Nothing is so intolerable to man as being fully at rest, without a passion, without business, without entertainment, without care.” - Blaise Pascal, French Philosopher
"Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. One has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you. You must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions....” - Don Juan, legendary fictional libertine
"Without passion you don’t have energy, with out energy you have nothing." - Donald Trump, Businessman
“Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life. When a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought that is more powerful -- a thought that is love.” -Mary Manin Morrissey, author
“Love and a cough cannot be hid.” - George Hebert, Pioneering French physical educator
"I don't go by the rule book... I lead from the heart, not the head."- Princess Diana
"Nothing is impossible to a willing heart." - John Heywood, Renaissance Playwright
"Our own heart, and not other men's opinions form our true honor." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English Poet, Critic and Philosopher
"All of our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling." - Blaise Pascal, French Philosopher
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