“Slow down once and a while and think deeply about your life. Envision a compelling future and ask if you’re on track; discern what skills you need to develop; remember to enjoy this all.”
– Brendon Burchard
While New Years is a great time for a clean slate and a fresh start, it certainly doesn’t have to be the only time we take a moment and reassess our lives.
In fact, as we’re always moving through various stages of life, growth, relationships, career, stress and experience that leads to wisdom, it’s a great practice to assess – and attend to – different areas of your life at different intervals. There are various tools you can use that we teach and use ourselves in my Certification courses.
For example,
- You could use a journal every day to write down your thoughts, worries, goals and intentions, or you might prefer to focus on gratitude and blessings.
- Weekly, you could assess your stress levels and make space for more relaxation to recalibrate and rebalance.
- Every 3 months you could take a look at your goals and celebrate progress. Likewise, you can adjust where necessary.
- Every 6 months you could revisit your Values and review your life choices – have they aligned to what’s most important to you? If not, why not?
Life rolls by so quickly, that if we don’t make time to slow down and think about what we’re doing with our precious time, then time will simply slip away and we’ll remain stuck in old patterns and unconscious habits.
SLOW DOWN DELIBERATELY
Look ahead and reserve yourself a “ME day”. Block out your calendar and tell everyone you’re busy. Take a day just for you.
Make this date with yourself count by heading to a favourite place where you are free of the mundane and habitual, and the constant chaos and expectations in your life.
Remove yourself long enough to hear your soul, breathe in the life force of the Universe and listen to your true voice emerge from the quiet.
Sit down with a pen and notebook (or voice memo on your device) and take some time to tune inward and explore your thoughts.
Here are some questions to guide you:
- Am I growing or stagnating?
- Am I thriving or surviving?
- Am I living a life of purpose?
- Am I serving from the heart or ego?
- Am I using or wasting my gifts?
- Am I aligned to my needs and values?
In the stillness and quiet of your soul the answers come and you awaken your consciousness to a higher vibration and self-awareness of your choices.
In any moment we can awaken and take conscious control of our choices in life.
After living within the classic “I’m not good enough” belief for a few decades – which has often kept me under the radar and safe from being seen – I’ve learned that coming into my own light and living a life of conscious choice is far better than hiding in the shadows and stumbling in the dark.
I now choose to be awake – which doesn’t mean I don’t still wrestle my conditioned mental patterns. It only means that I work on being conscious by asking myself regularly, Am I awake and conscious of my choices right now?
The more habitually I ask myself to wake up, the more attuned I become at checking in and making choices more aligned with my needs and values.
Don’t live your life in the shadows. Find and fuel your inner light. Need help? Explore our courses and get ready to change your own life!
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Author:
Viki Thondley
Viki Thondley-Moore is an Integrative Holistic Counsellor, Brain-Based Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Mind-Body Somatic Practitioner, Wellness Coach, Meditation Teacher, Educator and Disordered Eating Specialist. Viki is founder of MindBodyFood and Founder/Director of the MindBodyFood Institute.
