There is this thirst in our society to find the “perfect” something – whether it’s the perfect career, perfect relationship or perfect circumstances. We want to know what we are supposed to be doing, and are convinced it will bring a lifetime of happiness and success. And in our incessant search for all the right answers we miss what our life is trying to tell us – right now. Embarrassingly, I found myself in this very position recently. And, I thought you might want to know how to avoid similar circumstances.
It all started a few months ago. My practice was thriving, but I was asking the old question of, “What’s next?” Therefore, I did what I tell all my clients to do whenever progress feels stalled: I revisited my long-term vision of success, declared three big goals, and prepared to watch things naturally unfold.
For the first time, I did my visioning work with the help of Patti Dobrowolski. She specializes in visual mapping, meaning I talked about what I wanted and she gave visual representation to my words, ideas and dreams. The process was incredibly inspiring. I reconfirmed my long-term vision to help people to reconnect to their full potential through healing. (Let’s be honest, we’re getting loud signals that the world needs healing right now.) And to further the mission, I committed three goals to paper – create a healing center, tell my own story of personal transformation, and build a robust on-line community for those interested in learning how to self-heal.
Since that time, I could give you a million little and a few big examples of coincidences that have unfolded effortlessly – like unexpectedly buying land for the healing center, miraculously finding financing in this economy, having a spectacular marketing team assembled on my behalf – but of course, nothing happens by accident. Nothing. No, we all move closer to what we want when we learn to trust, pay attention and act definitively. Oh, the decisions don’t always feel logical or rational at the time, but I’ve come to give greater value the unconscious mind and the collective wisdom of something greater than myself. I just have faith in these pulling forces because they are always a few steps ahead of the limited conscious mind, which is where we tend to conjure up short-term goals anyway. But when you get them on all the same page – magic happens, and it happens quickly.
That’s right. When you declare a goal out loud, you have to be prepared as the universe rearranges itself on your behalf. You might get the right email at the perfect time, read an article that answers an old nagging question or show up at the wrong appointment and meet the right person. But what people don’t often tell you is that you also have to be prepared to get circumstances that you didn’t want, which is what happened when my writing coach almost fired me a month ago.
Fire me? I’d just declared my recommitment to writing the book. I thought to myself, “I can’t write a book without my writing coach?!” But of course, my coaches’ perspective was much more on target: I can’t write a book if I don’t make time for writing the book.
Like I said, the universe will rearrange itself on your behalf. And, you may not always get what you want, but you’ll get what you need. You just have to trust that it’s all happening for the right reasons. Sometimes it’s a lesson cloaked as a diversion. If you haven’t heeded the lesson in the past, it can easily look like a wake-up call. My conversation with Kimberly was a wake-up call. And the only way you’ll know the difference is to ask yourself what your life is telling you – right now.
When I asked myself that question, I noticed a convergence zone of sorts. My coach asking me to declare a specific writing goal, my breakthrough appointments uncharacteristically slowing, the all-star marketing team efforts that started to wane, the computer problems which cut me off from barrages of email, an invitation to writing time in the woods… and as a result, I’ve done lots of writing. Over 5,000 words, thank you very much. It’s not yet a chapter, but it’s a start – and a good start.
So today, I am humbly reminding you to stop, look and listen to what your life is telling you – right now. Having a long-term vision and declaring goals tells the universe what you want, but you have to be prepared to listen even when you don’t like the answer. Don’t take for granted the hidden meaning that arises from the circumstances of your everyday life. If you’re not getting the perfection of what you want, it probably means you’re getting the perfection of what you need.
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