Are you ever torn between your rational, logical thinking mind and your primal feeling that arises from a deeper place within? Bet so! Just yesterday my mind said “Go” and my inner voice said NO! This is a common conundrum most of us experience in little ways on a daily basis. There are many voices speaking to us all the time.
“Do I schedule that plane flight?” – Man, that feels like a lot of energy.
“Should I return the invitation?” – I’m just not into this friendship.
“Do I take the leap of faith and let go? I know it is the right thing to do! ” – I’m too scared of what is unknown on the other side.
Your wise inner self will always lead you to live in deeper, truthful and more authentic ways. Your heart knows the ways of love and well-being. It will call on you over and over again and it will ask you to transform. It will require you to learn and grow and change.
Meanwhile, your human brain has a primal controller called the amygdala. It is a very powerful alarm system. whose job is to keep you alive. And it does this by constantly scanning for danger.
And because living in greater truth will require change, your amygdala sees these choices as dangerous. It will sabotage any steps you take in that direction. It will do whatever it can to keep you “SAFE”.
It doesn’t want to go into the unknown. It wants to keep you in the safe and familiar of what is already known to you. Even if the known is unpleasant, it is familiar.
It will get you to find another solution for your unhappiness; constant rationalizing, drinking, sex, overworking, compulsive shopping, whatever will keep you away from the dreaded change.
And you won’t even realize that it’s happening.
The survival “saboteur” is what is at work when we become our own worst enemy and refuse to follow that inner guidance. It’s what keeps us from having the relationships we desire and living lives with greater meaning and aliveness.
But here’s the good news: you have complete control over this situation. Being aware that this lizard brain has been at the wheel and unchecked is the first step to change.
Change always takes you into the unknown. The unknown is where all your potential lies, and that potential is infinite.
Can you breathe through the unknown spaces? Can you reach out for support as you take small steps to a greater life?
Here are some steps you can take to begin to redirect that power from your reptilian brain back to your heart as you try new things and take new chances.
GIVE UP PERFECTIONISM
Try new things that are unknown to you. Include and celebrate your mistakes. Mistakes show us what not to do, a necessary step toward knowing what to do. You are already winning the game by showing up, so go ahead, take new chances and make a mess! Be a mess! And love yourself in all the messiness.
VISUALIZE AND CHARGE A NEW VISION
Meditate on your vision. See where you want to be and then use your focus to feel into the feelings that you want to experience when you arrive in that new space. This potent energetic exercise brings magic on unknown levels! It circumvents the fear reaction of the unknown by a stronger wave – the feeling of the desired result
FEEL YOUR FEELINGS
Let any feelings that arise in this process arise. Accept them without judgment and then let them pass through. An ability to Be With your feelings reinforce compassion for yourself. Feelings inform us, yet they are not truth, they aret feelings
MAKE A PLAN
Make a goal map for where you want to go, prioritize it, and then break it down into manageable steps. Do some work on your vision EVERY DAY, even just for 20 minutes.
ASK FOR HELP
Tell 3 friends about your vision, and ask them to be your touchstone throughout. When you feel overwhelmed, reach out to your witnesses.
When you free up the potential that resistance to chance has kept you from, there are no limits to what your life can be.
Making the changes it takes for growth is not easy. I help people raise the state of their lives and relationships by deepening into their inner voice and following the guidance of their heart.