If we take a look around at how we are operating as a society, most people are operating on autopilot. A lot of time and energy is placed on their external world with little attention on their inner experience or connection to Self; meaning our sense of self comes from what we do for a living, what we have, what we have accomplished, what we look like, what people think of us.
Take a moment and consider these questions…
Where is your focus?
What matters to you?
What brings you fulfillment?
A popular belief is the more we have it together on the outside, the happier we will be. But as many of us are aware, that’s just not the case.
Instead, we are seeing anxiety, depression, addiction, overworking and overspending increasing at alarming rates with many left wondering ‘how did I end up here?’
Living on autopilot can leave you feeling dissociated from decision making and misaligned with your true Self’s values and goals.
But what if we stopped and asked ourselves with curiousity ‘why I am doing what I’m doing?’
And then listen.
It wasn’t until I stopped and asked “why” that I was able to identify how much I was living on autopilot and how much I was striving on the outside in an attempt to feel good enough and be at peace.
This was the pivotal moment I consciously chose to start going inward rather than always focusing outward.
We can strive endlessly, have great achievements or wealth but if this is our main focus, we will never feel good enough or fully satisfied. We will always be focused on that next goal, or that next something new that we need to make us feel happy. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Where does this striving come from?
This constant striving is driven by our ego. Our ego’s modus operandi is ‘never enough’. We are never enough. It is never enough. There is always something to fix, change or do - on the outside.
It’s a fact that the ego operates this way. So, when we know this, we have a choice.
We can continue to be controlled in this manner and continue to feel not enough, empty, exhausted, or anxious.
Or
We can choose to be in driver’s seat and turn our GPS inward.
Nothing changes if nothing changes.
What I love about this journey is I am always uncovering and learning more about myself. I see places where I’m driven by the ego and what that feels like and I also see what it feels like when my soul is fully aligned, it just feels right.
Exploring with compassion is what I enjoy and find most effective - letting go of judgment, right or wrong.
It’s like peeling the layers of an onion. As the layers continue to fall away, I continue to see the truth of who I am. Not because I’m trying to, but because I am curious, and my focus is inward.
Nothing that is true ever goes away, it simply gets buried with the conditioning. This starts at a young age when we take on beliefs on how we should be.
A lot of our focus is external. We may have been taught it matters what people think, we have to work hard to be someone, like who we are isn’t enough. We have to be perfect and on and on.
Now as adults we get to unpeel the layers - not by forcing them – but by being present, curious, asking questions. Feeling.
The more attention we place inward the more we connect to our true nature. We go back to the place of
presence and from there, are able to again feel true gratitude, fulfillment, and peace at our core.
Turning inward and aligning with your True Self is my wish for all of you. That you allow yourself a moment of pause to ask, ‘why I am doing what I’m doing?’ and explore from there. Remember to be gentle and curious with the process, giving yourself the love and compassion, we all deserve.
With loving kindness,
Diane