We are now living in times of constant change. For many it is a time of confusion, chaos and uncertainty as the world shifts from a place of fear to a place of love and light. We as a human race are beginning to awaken one by one to a new way of living, a new way of thinking and a new way of being.  

These changes will create a new ‘reality’ for everyone. During these shifts you may experience periods of time that cause you discomfort, overwhelm and uncertainty. Be assured that your awareness of these changes is going to support you in the long term, even if it does not feel so at the time.  

Here are a few suggestions that can help you with the changes.  

1. Connect with likeminded people You are never alone even if it feels like you are! Find people who also want to grow and learn and make time to speak with them. Hearing the experiences of others can assure you that you are not alone and there is always a solution to support you through these times.  

2. Spend time in quiet contemplation Even a small amount of time alone can have an enormous impact on your wellbeing. Time for your mind, body and spirit to relax as you reconnect with yourself, mother earth and your heart. Honour your Divine self with quiet time which will reconnect you with inner peace and harmony.  

3. Connect with your heart. Chaos,stress, fear, doubt and worry only exist in the mind. Our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes create all sorts of angst that can spiral into physical and emotional illness; stress and uncertainty which exacerbates feelings of overwhelm. Consciously connect with your heart regularly. Your heart only knows truth, love and peace which is the greatest healer available. Importantly your heart aligns you with your authentic self and thus negates stress and chaos.  

As awareness in the world increases, it is more important than ever to understand who you really are so that your authenticity anchors you and protects you from the chaos. It is when you step aside from your truth that you experience disempowerment, stress and confusion. However, from a place of authenticity you will feel empowered and thus say hello to inner peace regardless of what is happening ‘out there’.

Have you had that experience when something felt right; you knew that you had to do something or felt that you could trust someone but didn’t know why? When you feel strongly about something without a logical reason, that is your intuition or sometimes known as a “hunch” or “gut feel.”

Some believe that you have to be gifted with intuition however studies are showing that intuition is something that can developed. Yet why would you want to develop your intuition? Intuition helps you better understand what is right for yourself as well as being more sensitive to others. When you are better able to understand people, you create bonds, connections and relationships that are based on trust.

So would you like to learn some easy ways to start developing your intuition? Give these options a go and notice what changes you experience.

1. Meditation

Meditation allows you to get in touch with your higher self and find peace. In our busy worlds, our mind is often cluttered with endless thoughts that are often don’t support our success. When your mind and heart are cluttered there is no space or quiet to access your initiate intuition. Meditation practices can include mindfulness whilst doing household chores; a yoga class or taking notice of your breathing. These practices create greater self awareness.

2. Trust your feelings and first impressions.

Our first impressions are often based on intuition. For instance, have you meet someone you didn’t trust but weren’t sure why? This is your intuition communicating with you. Our first impressions often hold true yet we allow our thoughts to interfere and justify why we could be wrong. Trust your intuition.

3. Think positive!

What are you choosing to focus on? Do you see the current economic times as overwhelming, devastating and hopeless or do you choose to view the current events as a great opportunity to create wealth and success? When your mind is full of worries, fears and self doubt, you block your intuition. If you chose to be positive and optimistic, you attract good things into your life and are in a better position to notice opportunities. Think positive and allow your intuition to guide you.

4. Let go.

What does this mean? Sometimes when we try too hard for an answer or solution we block our natural intuition that is here to guide us to the right action. If there is a big decision you have to make, give yourself the gift of some quiet time so that your intuition can serve you. Meditation is the perfect vehicle to let go. When you listen to the voice within you, the answers that you need are available and waiting.

5. Choose to be happy!

Who doesn’t like being around happy people who always see the glass half full or better still full! Being happy and positive removes negative barriers that interfere with your intuition. Happiness attracts happiness, allowing your intuition to guide you in the direction that is right for you. If you choose to tap into your intuition, you are giving yourself the gift of being guided towards happiness and contentment.

Intuition is helpful, because sometimes it leads you to something that cannot be achieved otherwise. Many times I have tried so hard to find a solution or opportunity without success. However, now I know that giving myself the space and time in meditation, the answers come to be without work. My decisions are easier and I have greater confidence knowing that I am doing what is true and right for me. Develop intuition now and reap benefits you have never imagined.

Sometimes, our doubts, fears and insecurities can become overwhelming and make us wish that we were someone else who has ‘got it all together’. Having worked with thousands of people, I continually hear people say that other people are better than us and have more potential. The reality is that other people have self doubts yet do not necessarily share them, leading us to falsely believe that we are the only ones with fears!      

Interestingly, a person that appear to have it all together or are perceived as being confident have self doubt and fears too. If you could mind read for a moment, you may be surprised that someone who is ‘successful’ in your mind may have thoughts including ‘I hope I am doing my job well enough’; ‘I wish I could have a body like John’s’ or ‘I wish I had better social skills’.

We may look at a young entrepreneur believing that he has everything: money, success, friends and a great business. Yet in the privacy of his own home he wonders why his last girlfriend left him; wishes his nose was different shape or whether he is good enough to make the business succeed

Interesting isn’t it? We envy other people for appearing to have it all and admiring their wonderful lives. Meanwhile, they may look at us and wish they could trade places with us. When we don’t know or accept ourselves for who we truly are, we can tend to feel insecure in comparison to other people. We can suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lose hope in living our potential as we may not be good enough.

One key to self improvement is to learn more about ourselves by listening and talking to a trusted friend, coach or counsellor. When you can express yourself openly and honestly, you are able to get a better insight into yourself by asking questions like “Do you think I talk too much?”, “Do I seem arrogant?”, “What could I do to be more friendly when meeting new people?”. The process of self discovery creates greater self awareness and self improvement. Be curious and open your mind to learning more about who you truly are. After all isn’t it better to find out the truth sooner rather than later.

Be the role model that demonstrates self improvement makes us better people who can inspire other people so others want to follow our example. To create stable and loving relationships you must love yourself first. Remember, you cannot give what you do not have therefore self love is essential for all relationships to be fulfilling.

Accepting your true self is the first step to self improvement. Ditch those unhelpful thoughts that sabotage you and prevent you from getting the results you want in life. We all have unique qualities that can serve ourselves and others. However until we accept and better understand ourselves, our treasures will not be discovered.

Nobody is perfect. We sometimes wish we had better skills, personalities or bodies. Yet by focusing on what we don’t like we are forgetting all the good qualities and strengths that we possess. Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy with our unique selves and inspire others just by being the REAL YOU.

What is success for you? For me it is more than wealth, titles and status. Success is ensuring that I am living true to my values and living my purpose in an authentic way. Success requires planning. The analogy of a map is useful for us to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin:  Who you are

A map has a starting point, where you begin. You can probably relate to conversations where people introduce themselves as a Mother, Teacher, Entrepreneur or Student. These ‘labels’ do not describe WHO the person is. To truly understand yourself and live authentically, have a close look at your values, beliefs, dreams, principles and purpose. Other than the titles that society labels us with, who are you really? To truly know who you are requires reflection on your life experiences, skills, strengths, weaknesses, interests and abilities to give you greater clarity to who you TRULY are. With over 20 years of introspection and now understanding who I truly am, I live by my top values of authenticity; health; connection & love; integrity; service & contribution and variety & learning. When I live true to my values I am true to myself rather than trying to be what I believe society or others want me to be. When you know who you are, you cannot help but experience internal peace.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do you want to be?” This is your vision. To create your true vision, it is essential to first understand who you really are, what you value and what you stand for. With love and clarity in your heart and soul; you give yourself permission to live authentically, in line with your true values, dreams and purpose. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and goals for the future would be unclear. Your destination includes all aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual. Based on my own journey of discovering who I truly am, my beliefs, values, and principles are sound and I do not sway from who I truly am no matter who I meet or my life circumstances. If you are living someone else’s expectations then you are cheating yourself of true contentment.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. Sometimes it can be understood as your vocation in life. Again, your mission will not be clear until you have been through the process of understanding your true self, who you are authentically. For myself, my mission has grown and changed over the years, however it has always involved vocations that inspire people to see their true worth and create the life they truly deserve. Therefore, I have volunteered in Australia and internationally and currently work as a Psychologist and Personal Coach so people recognise their true value and live authentically. It was only once I was able to understand my authentic self and clearly describe my vision and mission that I could live a life with purpose, dedicated to serving others

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

When you travel, what are the essential items that you don’t leave home without? These travel ‘necessities’ that make your journey more enjoyable are also required to live your vision. For instance, what knowledge, mind set, skills, life experiences, conversations and attitudes are required for you to live your dreams? Life is a journey where every experience provides the opportunity for more learning if we choose to do so. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to gain the mind set, skills and attitudes necessary to live the life they desire. However it is the responsibility of the individual to choose personal development as no-one else is able to do this for us. On the journey there are measures of success and times where it is evident that we need a few more supplies in our travel bag. What is it that you need to add? For myself, I love learning each and every day via coaching, reading, great conversations, seminars and wonderful clients for which I am privileged to not only assist them on their journey but strengthen the understanding of myself.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

  Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning your life, landmarks and a route are necessary to achieve your goals. Landmarks are considered measures of your success or sometimes the indicator that something needs to be tweaked. Measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. I learnt the hard way by setting major landmarks at the same time and then wondered why I didn’t achieve what I set out to do! Therefore it is essential to set realistic goals that are challenging yet not impossible, as easy goals leave us bored whilst overly ambitious goals that are unobtainable in a given time frame can be disheartening.     

 Anticipate Turns, Detours, and challenges

The purpose of your life map is to minimise hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. There will always be challenges, detours and potholes in life. They are to be expected! The secret is developing the skills to overcome challenges and importantly the mindset to manage obstacles which are guaranteed when we are heading towards our goals. In life there are things that are beyond our influence as we can’t control other people or some events. Therefore see obstacles and challenges as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, knowing that overcoming the obstacle, gives you greater internal strength and ultimately success.

For you to ponder:

Who are you? What is your vision of who you want to be? What is your mission? What skills, knowledge, life experiences and attributes do you currently have and what do you need to learn? Do you have your clear goals written down? How are you prepared for the challenges that emerge when you are working towards your goals?

To grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence may seem like an impossible task! With the world changing so quickly, providing us with new conveniences almost every week, ‘success’ is often considered the acquisition of material items that instantly gratify and satisfy our physical needs. Consequently, our connection to something greater and concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are sometimes confused. You may have asked yourself how is it possible to experience balance when the material world asks one thing of us yet our spiritual selves crave something different?

TO GROW SPIRITUALLY – SELF REFLECTION.

Introspection goes beyond recalling day to day events. When you reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations, you give yourself the gift of greater self awareness. By regularly examining your experiences, decisions and relationships, you develop useful insights on your life goals, strengths and areas of improvement so that you better understand yourself. Like any skill, greater self awareness can be learned by anyone! However, the process does take courage and a willingness to understand the truths that lie within you. This process becomes very enjoyable with experience, as objective reflection can help you grow. So, be generous, forgive yourself and focus on the areas of you life you want to improve.

TO GROW SPIRITUALLY – DEVELOP YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL.

In Psychology, realising one’s full potential is to self-actualise. Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. However to achieve self actualisation, each level of human needs must be satisfied before we can develop to the next level. For instance, only once you have achieved basic physiological needs can then you meet your emotional needs. This is the process of personal development to reach our true potential and live our purpose.

Every person has a purpose which incorporates our physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual and intellectual potentials. When we understand who we truly are and know our purpose, we have something to look forward to which keeps us strong during trying times and challenges. When you choose to develop your true potential and have a clear vision, desired destination no matter what comes your way. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.

TO GROW SPIRITUALLY – RECOGNISE INTERCONNECTION.

Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus you may have heard people call other people “brothers and sisters” despite not being a direct relation since deity-centred religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship between humans and a higher being. On the other hand, science links us to other living things through the evolution theory with relatedness between living and non-living things. Psychology views connectedness as a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow.

Whatever belief you have, recognition of your connection to all things provides more humility and respect for people, animals, plants, and things in nature. If we believe we are all connected then it is easier to appreciate everything around us.

Personal growth is a process that is possible because of our day-to-day experiences. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that there is something to learn from all our experiences. From the knowledge we gain about ourselves and others each and every day, further spiritual growth is made possible.

How do you develop your potential? Do you know your purpose and have you created a dream that makes life worthwhile? Do you enjoy the journey or are you simply marking off tasks along the way? What is your first step out of your comfort zone to live life to the fullest?