Let Go of the Head Games - Listen to Your Heart!

Dynamic Women - a Facebook group I am a member of - posed the following question, "What awesome advice will you share with the younger generation?"  I was intrigued to have my inner voice offer an immediate reply.  My advice? "Let go of the head games and hear what your heart is saying." I love it when my heart speaks so clearly.  

All through my last decade, as I listened to hundreds of interviews and worked with an amazing mentor, I was encouraged again and again to learn to differentiate between when my head was speaking and when my heart was speaking and when my heart was speaking.  It was extremely difficult at the start. I have a racing mind, am very passionate, and love to leap blindly into the unknown.  Sometimes those leaps were driven by an instinct that would not be denied.  But there were times I made mistakes.

The way this concept has been shared with me is that the head likes to be in charge.  It thinks things through from a logical perspective, a protective perspective, or others ways built from the life lessons you have learned. It is structured. The heart speaks from a place of intuition. It has also learned all the same life lessons, but it mixes, adds, condenses and makes leaps of judgement that your head can't. It is magically creative in the way it looks at life.

Sales people COUNT on your being in your head.  They know how to work their sales pitch to hit all the BUY NOW buttons.  An example would be at an information seminar on getting published when the person running it says, "Today only, anyone who signs up will get my $5000 program for just $900." They then go on to explain all that comes with this. When a break is offered shortly after, 1/3 to 1/2 of the audience flocks back to the table to sign up.  

I have learned to never jump in high pressure sales situations like that.  Maybe I miss an opportunity here and there, but honestly I am more likely to sign up for something that really isn't for me.  Same with purchases of any kind. I often wait 24 hours, and if I still am interested and the price still sounds about right, I will buy it.  I give time for the quieter voice of my heart, my intuition, to be heard. 

Photo by Jamez Picard on Unsplash

There are times, though, when I just know. My heart resonates in a way that cannot be denied, so I leap with wild abandon into the unknown. It's joyous.  But there  is always a price.  When I leap with so little preparation, my head can step in after with the lecture. "What do you think you're going to do now? You don't know what you're doing? You have no training? You don't have time in your schedule?" Sound familiar?

What I learned way later than I would have liked to, is to have faith. When those question arise I remember my mentor's words that my heart will never lead to me say yes to something unless I have both the time and the ability.  What I need to do is simply bring my focus in tight and take this journey simply one step, one moment, one breath at a time. Focus only on doing the first task without thinking beyond it. Then the next. Then the next

I admit it - this isn't always easy to do. It take constant practice and re-setting my focus. However, when I do manage to, I am always shocked at how quickly I move through my to-do list. Things are finished without stress and ahead of schedule. All worrying does is distract me and slow me down. As I write this I realize how far I have slipped away from this practice. I think I need to make a sign to put up in my work area and spend a few minutes before I begin each day to take some deep breaths and remind myself to simply focus on one step, one moment, one breath at a time.

 

The brain may want to fly, stall, worry, research, plan, avoid, but the heart is always calmly ready to guide, even when it's a wild leap of faith. The next time you sit down to work, give it a try. Pick simply the first thing on your list, breath focus, shut out the future worries and just do simply one thing until it is done. This practice can be life changing.