Tuning into your inner compass

A few years ago, a potential client approached me, telling me that she hated her job.
 
She described a toxic work environment, where co-workers distrusted each other, the boss undermined employees, and everyone was expected to work day and night.
 
She was exasperated.
 
She approached me because she wanted work that was more meaningful and fulfilling.
 
“What have you done so far to look for a new job?” I asked her.
 
“Oh, I’ve been applying to at least 5-10 jobs every day,” she said with an exasperated voice. “On the train to work, I get on my smartphone, look at all the different jobs listed on this website, and just go down the list, applying to each one of them.”
 
“All the jobs?” I wondered aloud. “Let me ask you a question. For this one particular job that you applied for, if this company offered it to you, would you take it?”
 
“Oh no, I wouldn’t take that job at all,” she quickly responded.
 
“Then why did you apply to this job?” I questioned her.
 
“Because I just need to do something. I’m so stressed out. Any action is better than taking no action,” she cried.
 
Have you ever wanted to change something so bad that you just went into action mode?
 
Her story reminded me of Alice in Wonderland who was lost, when she then approached the Cheshire cat for directions.
 
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
 
The Cheshire cat responded, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
 
Alice replied, “I don’t much care where.”
 
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” wisely answered the Cheshire cat.
 
My client, just like Alice, knew she didn’t want to be where she was at, and she also wasn’t exactly clear where she wanted to go.
 
They both just wanted to get going…to take action for action’s sake.
 
Anything felt better than feeling stuck and staying still.
 
I suspected, though, that with a couple questions, my client could get clearer, so that her actions would be more aligned with where her heart was calling her to be.
 
“Imagine yourself doing work that felt ideal for you, in an environment where you felt was the right and perfect place for you,” I explored. “How do you imagine you’d feel?”
 
“Oh, that’s easy. I’d feel free,” she quickly responded.
 
“Tell me more,” I nudged her.
 
“I’d feel like I could breathe. I wouldn’t be tired all the time. I wouldn’t dread going to work,” she continued.
 
“So, you’d feel like you have energy, and you might be looking forward to going to work?” I asked.
 
“Absolutely,” she exclaimed. “I’d feel like I was respected, by my co-workers and by my boss. I’d be doing things that I really enjoyed and was good at. And I’d feel like I was making a difference in what I was doing.”
 
Her mood shifted, and a lightness in her energy field exuded from her being.
 
“You seem different than when we first started talking. How are you feeling now?” I wondered.
 
“I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling more energized and excited about new possibilities,” she happily shared.
 
“This energy of openness, and feeling of possibility,” I remarked, “these are pointing you to where you’re being called. There’s that in you that knows what sparks you, what makes you come alive, and where you are called to be your fuller and more authentic self. This feeling you’re feeling now is like a compass, pointing you in the direction of your next step.”
 
As she sat there taking in the words and basking in the feeling, I could sense the wheels turning in her head.
 
“So my feeling open and expanded is pointing me to my next step,” she repeated. “This also means that if I’m not feeling open and expanded, and if I’m feeling like something’s not right, then this might not be the direction for me to take.”
 
“Exactly,” I responded. “Allow some room for your intuition and your feelings to help guide you. And when you feel excited, alive, and inspired, then be open to taking action from that place, and discerning which jobs feel more exciting to you.”
 
Abraham-Hicks shares a spiritual metaphor about a vacuum that’s not plugged into the wall.
 
You could push the vacuum all you want around the house, but until it’s plugged in, it won’t be cleaning up much dirt.
 
The metaphor brings it back to the idea that action for action’s sake doesn’t always yield the results you’re looking for.
 
But if you take the time to plug into Source energy, to tune into the expansive energy of possibility already within you, then you become more focused, more powerful, and clearer on your next steps.
 
So, for you, where in your own life might you be running around in circles, or feeling like you could use some direction, where you’re pushing the vacuum without plugging it in first, taking action for action’s sake but not really getting anywhere?
 
Perhaps you could consider first taking a moment to plug in, to tune in to the power Source that’s always available, and to get to a state of being where you welcome the energy of possibility and expansion.
 
Because once you’re plugged in, life actually starts to unfold a whole lot easier, and sometimes in seemingly magical ways.
 
And unlike Alice in Wonderland, you’ll be guided to your right next step, or it might just show up.

Abundant Blessings and Namaste.