I believe that we all need something to believe in. Something that’s bigger than ourselves, our families, our communities, our cultures. If we didn’t believe that more is possible, that tomorrow can be different, and that we have the ability to create our own realities, then I think it would be very difficult to get out of bed in the morning and keep moving through our days.
We chase job opportunities, we invest in friendships, we nurture our children, and we build relationships with love, hope, and dreams of a better future. And regardless of our religious beliefs or otherwise, we have faith that a better future exists. We live our lives in the hope that every tomorrow will be better than our today and our yesterdays.
Listening to Your Inner Voice
We all have an inner voice that helps to guide us through our lives. We tend to hear it most in times of sadness and when we’re lost. It’s also there when things are going well. It’s the voice that tells us to keep going when life gets difficult. It tells us to savour and enjoy the moment as it’s happening so we can remember all the sights, smells, and feelings that touched us in that moment of joy and happiness.
Our inner voice is easier to hear in a moment of stillness. Stillness comes when we are connected to ourselves through our thoughts and feelings. We also all hold on to the belief that there is more out there and that we are meant to fulfil a purpose during our time here on earth.
So What About Faith and Spirituality?
They have most definitely played a role for me. Faith and spirituality have been in the background while I’ve moved through a number of jobs in my career so far. I’ve left some due to downsizing, others because I wasn’t being valued, and some because the job didn’t fit me any more.
Faith has played a huge role for me in my career journey. It has helped me move jobs and continents in the pursuit of finding what I’m supposed to be doing in my life. I’ve put faith in myself and my journey, both professionally and personally, and it has helped to steer me in the right direction and allowed me to recognise when a job or situation isn’t right for me any more.
Spirituality has been part of that faith. 
To have faith, I have to believe that there is a bigger picture out there, a higher purpose I’m to be fulfilling – this, for me, is spirituality. I believe that there’s bigger plan out there. We all have a destiny that is within our reach. I believe that there’s more to life than what I’m experiencing today. I believe that we are only truly happy when we’re living the reality of having made courageous choices to fulfil our purpose and potential.
I believe we have to make choices. Our destiny will never be fulfilled if we don’t make courageous choices. And to make those choices we have to find our ability to:
- think for ourselves
- feel our own feelings
- connect with both our thoughts and our feelings
What Next?
How often do you listen to your own thoughts? Do you ever write them down? Writing down our thoughts can be very helpful in trying to make sense of them. Take a few moments every day and write down some of the thoughts that are coming to your mind and see what pattern there might be.
What about your feelings? Do you take time to actually feel your feelings? It might sound like a strange question, but most of us are too busy these days to process our own feelings. We block them out, pretending that everything is OK, and then we eventually break down in some way, taking it out on the kids, our work colleagues, and our nearest and dearest – and then spend time feeling guilty and ashamed of our outburst.
Yet if we found a way to acknowledge our feelings as they are happening, and allow the few seconds it takes for the anger chemicals to flush through our system before reacting, we may have a chance of making better decisions that move us more towards our destiny rather than away from it.
Taking a few minutes a day to observe your own thoughts, looking for any themes or patterns that help you to understand what is really preoccupying you, as well as having the patience to feel your feelings will allow you what you need to connect with your true self. By having spirituality and faith, you will find yourself listening to your inner voice that will help to steer you towards your true destiny.
Working with a coach is a great gift to yourself to practice hearing your inner voice, feel your own feelings and make sense of your thoughts. Contact me to learn more about how coaching might be the space you need to find your own faith and spirituality in your life.
Photo credit: Hubble Heritage via Foter.com / CC BY-SA