3 ways to trusting ourselves and heed the nudge

You can feel the internal tug of war at times.

“Should I do this?”

“Can I do this?”

“Am I allowed to do this?”

Sometimes it’s not so much permission we seek as it is trusting the inclination, in whatever direction we’re tending toward.

And I’m not talking where to go grocery shopping.

I’m talking when it’s okay to make a decision that may find us stepping out a bit from what others are doing…others being peers, those in our family, or those in our profession.

Sometimes the inclinations involve a tangible change:

–choosing not to join the girls night out this go round

–choosing to create your own holiday tradition and opt out of the what you’ve done with family year after year

–choosing a different type of work for yourself

Sometimes, the inclinations involve an internal–more thoughtful–change:

–choosing to believe that you as an individual are already a complete individual, not lacking a partner.

–choosing to believe you are already fully able to ‘mother’ or ‘parent’ ideas and have lots of children in terms of projects, neighbors, relatives.

–choosing to own your right to express your work online, when others in your profession hold more a traditional model.

Either way, any time you launch out into the dinghy of your own self expression, there comes with it this feeling of a giant leap of faith or a ginormous risk.

I want to offer some ways that have helped me heal this “big leap out into the grand abyss of possible failure.”

Here we go:

1) Know my Source

2) Weigh the Context of the idea I’m hearing

3) Act with Conviction

Explanation:

1) Know my Source

My life practice is grounded in the spiritual fact that man is the image or idea of the Mind governing the universe. We each are moments or instances expressing this consciousness. And as such my very being is the expression of that Mind. This is our source. We can trust it.

2) Weigh the Context of the idea I’m hearing

Knowing our source, when ideas come, to comprehend if they’re substantial or not (not being on a whim or of human will) I gauge the context surrounding the idea:

• Did I hear this nudge while I was calm, still, going about my day?
• Did I hear this nudge while in reacting to something?
• Was I motivated in by calm or reacting in anger when I heard the idea?

And really? If something is human will based for me, it sure doesn’t come as a nudge. It comes as anger, frustration, reaction and fear.

I tend not to act on those pulls anymore. But I sure used to.

So figuring out context surrounding an idea is a biggie trust factor for me.

Asking: “what is the thought and the tone behind and surrounding the idea?” helps sift it.

3) Act with Conviction

We take one step and stand. We don’t leap and then hang in the air.

It may feel like a leap but it’s a step and a stand. Or a step and another and then stand.

It’s knowing the idea came to you as a nudge and acting on that privilege.

We step and stand for our uniqueness.

We step and stand in gratitude for our individuality.

We step and stand in advocacy of our expression of womanhood or manhood.

In sum:

We can’t help but respond to the pulls within that come from our source.

We can all sift thoughts to assess the context.

We can all step and stand.

Doing so will helps build trust in ourselves.

Do this enough times and we begin to live and be the who we are.

So how bout it? Agree/disagree?

What else works for you to trust yourself?

What trips you up as you try?

Thanks so much for being here and sharing thoughts about what moves this journey.