It's Sunday morning...and I am full of reflection. A glance in the mirror reveals a woman that has lived a full life. One of many accomplishments, disappointments, wonderful opportunities for growth-both personally AND professionally. I take a moment to reflect on my many life's lessons; how often I spent
years...even decades with my head up my ass...and didn't even realize it.
The funny thing is, once you become aware of your behaviors you can no longer hide behind them. As a result, of coming face to face with your inconsistencies, your half-truths and your masterful illusions, you can no longer pretend to be asleep. The little "colorful lies" you once told will not flow to you as easily. The habit of pointing the finger at everyone else only serves to create conflict in your spirit. You now have no choice but to accept responsibility for your actions whether good or bad and as a result, you decide that you need to make a change.
So how does one go about making this change? Even better, how does one go about actually becoming aware? There are several ways in which you can accomplish both. They are all equally effective it just depends on which one resonates with you, but there is one that will take this
request and its results to the "next level." Let's save that one for last.
To become aware of your ...
- Hidden Agendas
- Insecurities
- Manipulative tactics
- Areas in which you sell yourself short
You have to be....
- Willing to "get to the bottom" of your truth. You can do this by thinking of particular situations that were either painful or irritating to you and continuously asking yourself the question of "Why did this .... me so much?" The more you ask the question and you go
deeper and deeper into yourself to find the answer, you will uncover the truth. There you may run into old feelings of jealousy, envy, insecurity, etc. but once you identify them, you will have the opportunity to work through them and thus reclaim your personal power. - Willing to see yourself not as who you think you are but as who you REALLY are. Each one of us has created this "character" of the person we would like to believe we can be. Sometimes this is a good thing as it pushes us to be more, do more, etc. However, there are also
times when this "character" serves to hide your true nature. Maybe you are not as "nice" as you think you are. Is it possible that you could be a very manipulative individual but telling yourself and others that you are only looking out for their best interest? Are you someone that does
things for other people and expect undying love and devotion in return? - Willing to uncover and acknowledge where you make others responsible for your place in life. Many people blame others for their place in life; "because my 5th grade teacher told me I wouldn't amount to anything...she jinxed me; if my husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, parent had only told me (X) I would have had such a different life; if he would only do (X) if she would only have (Y) I could have been great." All of these things point outside of yourself
for the reason you are not where you think you should be or you want to be. In reality, you are where you are because of the choices that YOU made. If you had made different choices, you would be in a different place. Understanding this, taking full responsibility for your life is
the first step to living the life you REALLY want.
Taking time to reflect on these things will lead you to a higher understanding, appreciation and love of self.
If you are an over-achiever like me, you not only want to consider the suggestions above but you will also want to take it one level deeper. How can you do this? How can you take this trip to "true self-awareness" to the next level? By asking your higher power to reveal to you, during these exercises...
- Your responsibility in each situation
- Where/how you gave your power away
- What is really important to you
- What needs to change to allow you the quality of life you REALLY want
Understand that IF you open this line of communication, what returns to you may not be what you wanted to hear but it will be what you need to move you beyond your current "self-awareness" position. Each time I ask the Universe to step up and step in to my quest for the truth...I am changed. I have to be ready to accept what is revealed to me but once received, processed and accepted, I have moved up the next level of self-evolution. I can no longer hide behind what I thought to be the reason for situations in my life - I have to be accountable and make a decision as to whether or not to do what needs to be done to change it or accept that I want things to remain the same. Either way, my spirit is now fully aware and my head is yet again pulled out of my behind in that particular area.
If you want something different than you have always had, then you need to do something radically different than anything you have already done. What area are you looking to radically transform? Do share.
