You don’t need more time in your day. You need to decide. Seth Godin
Not knowing what to do when faced with a decision can be the worst feeling in the world. For me, it causes all kinds of stress in my body; my mind can’t stop racing, my heart feels heavy, I can’t eat or sleep, I can’t focus on anything, my chest feels tight, and so much more.
I want to share how I was able to zone in on the exact question that cleared it all up for me. BOOM. Just like that.
But, first, you gotta hear the story.
I’ve found that being aware of my body can help me identify what is going on for me emotionally. This is something I learned from reading Rising Strong by Brene Brown. She talks about identifying the symptoms in your body that directly relate to an emotion or feeling that has come up for you. Her take on it is this: if you can identify the emotion from how your body is feeling, that is step one to figuring out what you need to support yourself. For example, when I start to feel shame or guilt, my face gets really hot and I start to feel dizzy. Knowing this, means I can understand right away, this is shame.
Where is that coming from? What triggered it? And what story am I making up right now? It cuts through the bullshit so you can minimize unnecessary reactions that could make that situation worse for yourself.
Anyway, back to my story. My body was showing me that I was in dire need of support. I knew I had to sit down with myself, get grounded and make room to hear my inner guide so she can tell me what I need to do (tell me now, please!). The problem was that my mind wouldn’t shut off. I sat down, and couldn’t get quiet. I tried to breathe and that helped a bit, but as soon as I started thinking about each scenario and what felt better in my body, I seemed to bee line it for the rabbit hole. Argh.
Help! Someone tell me what I need to do!
Do I say yes to this opportunity knowing that it may not fit all of my needs right now, or do I say no and continue searching?
There has to be an answer somewhere.
Then, pretty much on cue, because I asked for help, something popped up on my Twitter feed that was pure magic. It was a tweet from one of my dear mentors and spiritual teachers, Jordan Bach. He had linked a video of his from months ago that had the message, “Getting clear on a new direction”. The cool thing is, that I had already watched this video months and months ago, and here it was again in my time of need. I opened it up and watched it again and was given that sweet guidance I’d been looking for. Jordan encourages you to ask this question, whenever faced with a choice, decision or cross-roads:
“Which choice feels like forward movement?”
Wow. That question evoked an answer for me right away. I knew which decision was best and I felt it in every cell of my body. Powerful. Clear. Free.
I breathed a sigh of relief, thanked Jordan, the Universe, and my inner guide.
Here we go.
New beginnings.
I hope this question can serve you in your quest and journey.
Thank you for reading!