I was feeling good. I was on a roll. I was, in my mind, crushing it.
And then it all came to a grinding halt. I was unceremoniously thrown off the tracks. My body fractured and twitching in the ditch. Hopes and dreams spilling out of me with abandon, asking, “How did I get here? I thought I was doing so good. What happened?”
What happened is I stopped listening.
I stopped listening to that Knowing voice. We all have one. She’s there in the back, ushering us along. A quiet, gentle guide steering us in the direction our Soul knows we need to go.
When I stopped listening, I lost momentum. Or rather, I lost control of the momentum. The momentum we had so steadily gathered was gone. In its place was a runaway train that met the same outcome all runaway trains meet: death.
So how did I get back on the tracks? How did I dust myself off and reset my bones?
By listening to that Knowing voice.
She was gentle and easy on me. She didn’t rush. She didn’t demand. She didn’t force. She waited and smiled and listened and reminded me of what matters to me.
She reminded me of my core values and showed me how to honor them.
She asked the hard questions without pressing for answers.
She had me look in the mirror and reflect on who I am and who I’m becoming.
“Forget the outside world for a moment,” she said, “And look inside yourself.”
All the answers we’re looking for, we have within us.
The problem is that all the noise we hear around us drowns them out. Our culture is so full of noise—offline and online—that it’s no wonder we struggle to hear our own thoughts.
You don’t need to adhere to anyone’s ideas of what you should do. They can’t possibly know.
Listen to them and take their advice if it serves you.
Don’t feel bad if you don’t follow it. It’s not personal. Well, it is personal, but it’s not injurious to the person who was giving you the advice.
Listen to people who are where you want to be, yes. Some will offer proven methods and formulas.
The formulas work. That’s why they’re formulas.
But remember that their goals and hopes and dreams are not yours.
So do what they do with a twist. Make it your own. Follow the formula if it serves you. Otherwise, say thank you, but this isn’t for me.
And move on.
You’ll get there.