Do You Know Where You’re Going?

March 21st, 2011, by Shelley Riutta

Do you have clarity about your life path?  Do you have a clear direction that you are heading? One of the complaints that I hear from people seeking counseling is that they feel confused about what they want to do with their life.  They may be at a crossroads or they have had a very long period of time of not having a clear direction.  As they get to know and understand themselves on a deeper level through the counseling process -this clarity of direction begins to emerge.  When people are confused it is because they are in their wounded self–the conditioned part of them concerned with what others think–and externals.  The clarity of direction is contained in their Authentic Self—who they really are inside.  As they get to know their Authentic Self (who they really are) and stay focused on this–the direction in life becomes very clear.  It can take some time and soul searching, but it will lead to clarity.

What kinds of things to people do to connect with their Authentic Self?  A common exercise I do with clients is to start separating the voice of their Wounded Self from their Authentic Self. How can you tell if the voice is Wounded or Authentic?  If it is coming from your Wounded Self it typically will be a statement that is fear based and oftentimes a limiting belief based on past conditioning.  The difficulty that people have is that these limiting beliefs are running around in their head and they take these as true and act upon them.  Today I heard a statement on a radio show where the presenter challenged people’s “logical” thinking.  She asserted that oftentimes when people think they are being rational and logical it is coming from conditioned thought patterns that they have absorbed from their family and have never challenged!  So be careful about your thinking–when you think you are making a “logical” decision you may be just acting upon an unchallenged limiting belief that you have inherited.

Thursday I will go over another exercise to help you connect more with your Authentic Self.

Watch your thinking today and notice if you are in a old Wounded thought pattern.  Shift gears and connect with the expanded, positive thinking of your Authentic Self–and clear the way for clarity about your life direction.