All you have to do is get out of the way, just like birds know when to fly south, so do you know where to go through what feels most alive
Tip #1: Stop striving and start “flowing”
“Life is not something my mind can grasp”. Speculation is possible. Certainty is not. As you relax and allow your awareness to kick in, you begin to notice that you have an inner knowing working for you: you have access to feelings and clues. But those signals are drowned out in a sea of frustration when overthinking, worrying, or trying to figure things out… It may feel like life will fall apart if you stop trying to control, but I’ve personally found the exact opposite to be true. As Rumi once said: “Don’t worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” You don’t know what is going to happen. You don’t know what the future holds. So you might as well relax!
Tip #2: Use What You Have
When I work with my high achieving clients, I notice a sense of urgency, a rush to success. The incessant NEED to set goals and reach a result. If someone wants to be a writer, they want to have written their book. They want to already be a successful author. If they are setting up a business, they need it to be done and running in the blink of an eye. They’re focused on destinations. But life is a process, a journey.
To yearn for an achievement is to yearn for an artificial sweetener. It may taste sweet at first, but it has no substance. Instead of thinking of what you don’t have, focus on what you can do with what you have. Focus on right here, right now. If you feel the urge to write, then write. Start a blog. Write flash fiction. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have an audience. What matters is that you start. Remember, it’s not up to you to figure out where you’re going. It’s up to you to follow your heart, your inner knowing. Birds do not worry when they fly. They simply fly.
Tip #3: Discard Virtual Reality
We all have a picture of what success looks like. Or what it should look like: we’re programmed by TV, case studies, blogs, and society in general. However, your path has nothing to do with what people have done. You are you. This is your life. Your path. The sooner you discard the virtual reality in your head, the sooner you can start accepting where you are. This is not about adopting a defeatist attitude: this is about stepping out of your head, and into reality. It is only when you start living in the present moment that you can move forward. The only thing that matters is following what makes your heart sing. And you do that by starting where you are with what you have
Tip #4: Surely We Must Plan?
This is not about discarding thinking altogether. This is about discarding thinking that isn’t useful. Plan if it feels alive to you. Figure things out if it is exciting. But forcing yourself will only exhaust you, and trying to control will only depress you. And to be honest, what I say does not matter. Follow your heart. Follow your own excitement… Your path is already here. No searching is needed. Only a recalibration of where you get your guidance: discard assumptions, expectations, and outside programming. This has never been about finding anything, but about noticing that you have everything you need to take the next tiny step.
Tip #4: There is no rush
And there is no rush, no need to quit your job, to be famous, or to be successful. Accept where you are, work with what you have, and listen to what feels alive, magnetic, exciting, fascinating. Start your journey and do what you can. Drop all expectations, because you do not know where life will take you. And if you do not resonate with what I have written, simply discard it ;)!
When you follow your heart, your inner “knowing” nudges you into the right direction. “Finding your path” comes down to “living your life to the fullest”: it comes down to following what makes you feel alive, and doing your best, at every moment.
Are you obsessed by clarity?
We think we should know where we’re going, or even who we are. We look for concrete things to grab onto such as plans, an identity, or confirmations that we’re good enough. But none of those things are relevant. What’s relevant is the willingness to take one step at a time toward what feels most alive to us.
When you let go of trying to know what’s going on, you become truly free
There is only the act of living life one moment at a time: everything else is a figment of your imagination, a thought filled with puffs of smoke.
Uncover Your Path in Life!
While there is no formula to finding your path in life, there are common elements. As I’ve already mentioned, it’s not about figuring anything out: it’s about letting life figure itself out. Your purpose is already within you. All you have to do is get out of the way, just like birds know when to fly south, so do you know where to go through what feels most alive.
