What’s next?
October 22nd, 2009
WORD COUNT: 827 Short, Yet Discerning Words
TIME to Truly Decide: * About 4 Minutes! *
We pass through three phases on our way to divine discernment.
In the early stages of our human journey, we do what other people want us to do.
Then at some point, we progress to the next stage, where we do what we think we “should” do.
And then thankfully, if we’re willing to find the courage, we progress into the third stage, which is doing what we truly want to do.
Yet deciding what we want isn’t always a slam dunk. Sometimes we’re not sure. And it makes sense that we’d need some time to figure out this process of knowing what we truly want to expand in our experience. So if you’re caught in uncertainty, this may help you sort it out.
In the first stage of our human journey, someone else did the deciding for us. And even though we didn’t always like this arrangement, it was easy. We went along for the ride, for the most part. And there was safety in that scenario, because an authority figure had the responsibility of deciding. So we didn’t really have to face the consequences of choice.
Yet the Self becomes stronger with each decision we make. So at a soul level, we don’t really want to stay in stage one forever.
So, what happens in the second stage? Well, we burden ourselves with “shoulds” and “have-tos”. We make choices based upon the desired outcomes, with little or no thought about enjoying the journey… as we forge ahead to the promised land, of goals realized. For the most part, we’re still living by someone else’s rules, but don’t recognize that we’re doing so.
We go into over-responsibility, and pleasing other people in order to fit in … or we make decisions on the basis of someone else’s concept of success … or to fulfill culturally defined roles and responsibilities. And so life feels hard. We struggle, push, and overdo in an attempt to prove something, either to ourselves, or to someone else.
So in the second stage of our journey, we’re accepting more responsibility for our decisions, but we’re still not really deciding what we truly want to experience. Even though we think we’re deciding, we’re allowing social norms or someone else’s ideas to decide for us! We do what we think is expected. We do what we think is necessary to fit in. We make decisions in an attempt to fill a void.
Naturally, there are aspects we enjoy in every stage of life. Yet, at some point, we start to question our assumptions and beliefs. There’s a whisper of discontent. Something doesn’t feel quite right, but we’re not sure what it is. Does this sound familiar? So we begin to look deeper. This is usually a sign that we’re transitioning into the third stage.
And in the third stage, we reclaim our Personal Power, we become who we truly are. This requires courage and shedding the fears and wornout beliefs that don’t reflect who we truly are. We step out of the Human Doing and into the Human Being. We recognize where we’ve been led by a need to feel good enough. In this stage, we recognize our value, and understand that success isn’t tied to: what we accomplish, a job title, or an annual salary. We know that success is measured by something very different. It is measured by our ability to allow ourselves to be genuinely happy, being and doing what we truly want to be and do. Now our decisions are based upon what we authentically want to expand in our experience, at a soul level.
So now we’re back to the Soul Truth, we’ve been exploring. Which leads us naturally to the question… how do we know what we really want at a soul level?
1) Appreciate that life has, and is teaching you how it feels when You aren’t really making the decisions. These experiences have given you the gifts of wisdom and compassion!
2) Decide that you want to follow your own path.
3) Then commit to making decisions, not just because of where they may lead, but because you want to enjoy the journey!
4) From a state of inner peace, ask yourself questions such as:
- What would I prefer to experience or what would I enjoy?
- How do I want to feel?
- Who do I want to be?
- What would this look like?
- Then based on those answers, what do I really want to do?
By using these or similar questions in this sequence, you’re leading from the heart, from Soul Wisdom, rather than from the intellect. Higher wisdom and knowingness reside in how we feel, not in linear thought. Thinking helps us create, organize and understand on the mental level, which is important. But the true You, who knows what she truly wants, isn’t found in the head. You’ll find her through the heart!
Decide from the heart, think with the head.
Your friend and partner in daily discovery,
Copyright© Laura Cardone 2009. All Rights Reserved. This is a Daily Discovery Series edition. www.profitswithpurpose.com
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