Written by: Danielle Sunberg, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We all navigate life hoping to arrive at our preferred destination – land of success. At some point along our journey and oftentimes once we arrive, we realize the destination doesn’t offer what we thought it would. The glory, the happiness, and the fulfillment we thought was waiting for us simply isn’t there.
Our inner compass offers us the most precise and efficient navigation to get where we truly want to go in life.
This experience is a huge piece of our cultural mythology. It’s the characters in our plays, books, and TV shows who have built their empires, amassed their fortunes, and still found themselves miserable. Think of Shakespeare’s King Lear, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby, and almost everyone in Game of Thrones.
It is at this moment that we discover we’ve been using an untrustworthy compass. It pointed us somewhere we were told we should go, but try as we might, we aren’t enjoying being there. This is when we look around and think, “Now what?”
The problem is, when we decide it’s time to find a better compass, we have no idea where to look. We grasp for answers from our families, friends, and those in positions of authority. We ask, “What should I do?” and “What do you think?” We consume data and statistics to help us sort out what our new compass should look like and where it should take us. Incredible amounts of information are available, and yet we still find ourselves unsure.
Our culture hasn’t taught us how to locate the answer we are looking for. This is an inward journey, and often one we don’t feel confident to start. But the moment we take a deep breath and dip our toes, we find a deep well of wisdom waiting for us. Sourcing this wisdom offers us the most precise and efficient compass that will always take us exactly where we truly want to go.
Here’s three steps to guide you on this inward journey, locate your wisdom, and use your new compass.
Slow Down
Hustle culture has taught us to rush towards answers. Our focus is trained on crossing the finish line by finding an answer, leaving the quality of the answer unexplored. When I worked as an attorney, the urgency of my law firm deadlines was often held more sacred than the content being delivered.
We aren’t taught how to slow down or why we should. It’s an artform that we haven’t mastered, yet it is one of the most simple, efficient, and effective ways to source our best answers, ideas, and insights. This is why we tend to have those incredible “aha” moments in the shower or on a walk in the park. We have slowed down with less on our minds, creating a space for pops of wisdom to come through.
Awareness
The value of slowing down is that we expand our awareness. In our hustle culture, we are experts at rushing through each moment to get to the next. When we slow down, we access more of the information available to us. We may realize thoughts, feelings, and ideas that we typically ignore. Noticing new information leads to insights that open up creative solutions and possibilities, pointing us in a new direction and transforming our lives.
Trust
All too often we experience a rush of wisdom and ignore it. It doesn’t fit with our lives, and we don’t know what to do with it. When our inner wisdom points us away from the place we’ve been pouring in our resources and creating expectations, we resist. We’ve created immense momentum to go a particular direction in life whether professionally or personally, and following our inner compass a different way can feel uncomfortably risky. It can be ungrounding, pulling us away from the foundation we spent time and energy building.
To get where we really want to go requires that we place trust in our inner compass. Nurturing a relationship of self-trust can feel quite difficult, as we are used to delegating trust away and relying on other people, institutions, and data for answers. Self-trust isn’t taught and it is rarely prioritized, but if and when we decide to focus on it, life transforms. This work clarifies and refines our sense of self, anchoring us in deep personal mastery. This is where true confidence comes from, and it is how we efficiently and effectively navigate life as the authentic leaders we were born to be.
If you would benefit from support along your journey developing your inner compass to create your most fulfilling life, please reach out to me or take a look at this free reflection guide I’ve created to help you move forward.
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Danielle Sunberg, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Danielle Sunberg is a former attorney turned TEDx and authentic leadership speaker, author, and coach. Her new book, “Atlas of Being: From Briefcase to Backpack, One Former Lawyer's Exploration of the Human Way,” is an Amazon 1 New Release. After successfully defending her client at trial against a $6 billion judgment, Danielle was diagnosed with depression. She left her firm to travel six continents, exploring the farthest corners of the world and the innermost reaches of the human soul to understand what it meant to live a truly fulfilling life. Danielle bridges her expertise in the corporate world with self-development to guide leaders to transform themselves, their business, and the world.
