The Wisdom Within
When I first saw this quote a few years back, it hit me in the gut like a sucker punch.
It encapsulated what I was feeling most days, especially as a highly sensitive, anxious person.
The outside voices of experts telling me all the important things I should BE and DO every day. How to be a good mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, student, writer, coach...and so on. (Eerily reminiscent of my “good girl” persona, no?)
The visual of yanking my hand back from the phone, TV, radio, parenting books and placing it on my own heart was powerful. DAMNIT, THAT’S RIGHT! I AM THE ONE WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT IS IMPORTANT!
We get so caught up in the rat race or on the hamster wheel or whichever rodent/life metaphor you prefer, that we often forget to STOP and REFLECT upon the wisdom within us.
What truly is important to ME? Not to my family or my friends or my therapist or ALL of the EXPERTS on EVERYTHING. But to ME.
It dawned on me that in order to answer this question vulnerably and wholeheartedly (any Brene Brown fans out there?), I had to sit down and take a good hard look at my personal VALUES.
When we make decisions hastily in the day to day, based on the information in front of us, rather than our true core beliefs and innate wisdom, we often make choices that aren’t fully aligned with our values. This then leaves us feeling uneasy, discontented and anxious. But it happens so covertly, that we don’t even realize it.
So, how do we reroute and get back on a trajectory that is headed towards the fully aligned version of ourselves? How do we truly assess what’s important to us?
Take some time to sit in quiet place, with no distractions, and really consider your core values. Write them down. List them. Then, ponder and write about the decisions you make on a daily basis. Which of the choices you are making are in alignment with your values? What choices might you be making that are not serving you?
I’m not suggesting you will “solve” this all in one session of journaling. But I hope that by starting the core value conversation, and allowing space to connect with your soul’s truth, you can begin to prioritize life on YOUR terms and your innate wisdom within.
P.S. Drop a comment or message me if you want a list of core value examples! Or, if you’d like some guidance in exploring this, I have an amazing self-paced online course to teach you how to prioritize your life! Just drop me a line! xo JD