Written by: Vanina Pitsch, 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.
It’s the beginning of February 2023! Perhaps you came up with New Year resolutions, intentions, and/or goals for 2023. Either way, it’s important to recognize that we don’t always make decisions based on what we truly desire and aspire to become. Our decisions tend to be guided by what we think is good for us or based on what we see around us/what society wants us to do. But have we stopped and reflected on whether our goals and ambitions are in alignment with what we actually want to do? Do we truly know ourselves?
Let’s stop here for a second. Aristotle once said: “Knowing Yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” but why would that be? What he meant is that by being true to yourself, you are being true to others. You are also giving others the opportunity to get to know your authentic self and can build deeper relationships as a result. It’s also from this place that you can build a life that is meaningful to you and that is worth living for based on your values. Here’s a three-step process to help you tap into your inner voice in order to define what’s truly important to you when making a decision:
1. Reduce the Noise
The first step is about creating an environment where you can become aware of your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. It really doesn’t matter where you are as long as you can retreat to a place where you are not distracted by your electronic gadgets and can be by yourself for a little while. While you may love being surrounded by your friends and family members and maybe even seek their advice, being around them won’t necessarily give you the space needed to allow yourself to tune into your awareness and listen to any answers that might arise ‒ we can all have access to our own inner wisdom, if we make space for it.
Tip: When spending time on your own, you can practice mindfulness in order to train your mind to be in the present moment and become aware of your whole being (thoughts, emotions, body sensations). One exercise that you can do is a simple mindful breathing exercise, which involves becoming aware of your breath and the sensations that arise as you inhale and exhale. This exercise will help you connect to yourself. To find out more information about mindfulness, you can also read this article.
2. Be Honest With Yourself
The second step is to cultivate honesty so you can start being true to yourself. You might think you are being honest with yourself but we often tend to ignore our inner guidance and come up with excuses for the decisions that we are or aren't taking.
Tip: When you have come to a conclusion or decision, you can ask yourself the questions below in order to bulletproof your decision. You can do this exercise by getting a notebook and writing down any answers that come up for you – even if they don’t seem to make any sense. I would suggest you write down the first thing that comes to mind, without questioning it.
a. Why did I make this decision? b. Is this what I truly want? c. Is something holding me back from making another decision? d. Is this a decision influenced by an emotion (like fear)? e. Have I used my left (logic)or right (intuition) brain to make the decision?
Once you have come up with your responses, review them and notice if the responses changed and if you are getting a new piece of insight that can get you closer to what you truly want to experience.
3. Listen to Your Heart
If you would like to make decisions based on your deepest desires and aspirations, it will be important to recognize the difference between what your mind is shouting and what your heart is whispering to you ‒ (the voice of the heart tends to be subtle as we have been trained to use our minds to make decisions). Depending on the responses you will come up with after completing the self-reflection exercise, you may realize that you are torn or conflicted in a certain way and may feel more confused than before. That’s normal by the way. So here is what you can do to get more clarity on the matter at hand:
Tip: Take a notebook and create two columns. One column is for what your mind wants you to do (when you are rationalizing something or making a logical decision) and the other for what your heart wants you to do (you may feel it’s a desire but it may not make sense or seem practical to you). Once this exercise is completed, try to feel into each item and to get a sense of what you are more inclined to start working on. You can ask yourself this question: What do I feel more pulled towards? What’s most important to me right now? This will help you obtain some clarity and determine what steps you can take to follow your heart and make an aligned decision based on your values and goals. While it is important to follow your heart, you may not feel ready to fully go for it yet. And that’s perfectly ok. I recommend taking things one step at a time, and seeing what small changes you can implement now in order to work towards alignment with your truth.
Conclusion
Making an aligned decision is a step-by-step process and it’s not necessarily something that you do overnight. You could certainly decide to take a big step right away, however, be aware that it could also create a lot of disruption ‒ and that’s ok, if that’s what you want. The idea here is that you become aware of your choices and consciously select what is good for you at the current moment, while keeping the future in mind. It certainly isn’t an easy process, but it’s one that’s worthwhile embarking on in order for you to become true to yourself and live the life that you desire.
If you would like some more help with making aligned decisions, I would be happy to support you. You can book a free clarity call with me via this link.
For information about my services, visit my website. For more content and inspiration, you can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Vanina Pitsch, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Vanina Pitsch is a leadership development manager, mindset coach, and mindfulness facilitator. She is the founder of GloWell Coaching ‒ a coaching and mindfulness company aimed at bringing empathy and mindfulness into organizations and supporting professionals in their careers and life so they can evolve into their next-level selves.
Certified as a Personal and Professional Coach (PPCC) from Concordia University, she offers a variety of different coaching packages and organizes online wellness events as well as urban wellness retreats for professionals and organizations.
She believes in the power of the mind, leadership development, creating inclusive work environments, and teaching others to take care of their well-being. So they can serve from a place of wholeness and be in alignment with their soul’s purpose.
