Turn and Face the Change

I am often telling my loved ones to "be good to yourself" and a few days ago I thought "what exactly does that mean, what am I asking them to do when I say that," so I wrote.

Be kind, be true, be good to yourself. Be true to your heart and trust your gut--you know it knows! Be gentle and loving by allowing yourself to follow that truth. 

Trusting your gut is an amazing gift; because, even when you know you're doing what's right it can be scary. How do you know if you're anxious because you're just scared to make a change or because you are about to go down a path that isn't true to you? 

Try this: 

When you think of what you're about to do and you get nervous, anxious or begin to question if this is really the right thing...

1) Do you feel open or closed? (I know, what the heck does that mean right, keep reading!) 

Look at your body language do you look pulled in? Are your shoulders pulled forward or back? Is your head up and lively or slanted downward and drained? Do you gesture out, up and away from your body or in, down and toward your body? 

2) How does your energy feel when you think or talk about the thing for which you are seeking clarity? 

Do you feel more alive or less so? Do your eyes sparkle or dim? Does your face glow or ashen? 

3)You say trust your gut, but how do you know when its butterflies "the good nervous" or a pitted knot "the bad run-away-like-your-life-depends-on-it" ('cause it does) nervous? 

For me butterflies feel floaty, jittery, and light. A pitted knot feels heavy, weighty, and sinking. Learn to notice the difference, it's there.

4)When you've commited to something and then you hit a bump-in-the-road, do you feel instantly defeated or irritated with the slow down but feel you'll make it through probably with greater insight? 

This is often where that pesky little voice in your head comes in, is your self-talk deprecating or triumphant? 

5)When you're on this path, do you feel physically sick often--colds, flu, headaches, and draggy or do you feel pretty invincible, energized, and clear-headed? 

For me, this is that place where I can spend hours upon hours reading, working, or researching and come away feeling energized and clear when it's true-to-me. 

Or, that place where I spend hours doing what I (or other people) think I should be doing and feel like I was hit by a train, fuzzy headed and drained.

Basically it's doing two of the hardest things there ever were...listen and trust, truly.