I’m on a ferry from Nantucket over to Hyannis as I write this. It was an amazing 10 days of hikes, bike rides, beach time, and great food. Great playtime.
During this trip, two themes keep showing up over and over. One is stillness and the second is to take the path less traveled. Finding time to get still and really listen is connecting to your own personal navigation system. It’s where you get clear on what is right for you, what you really want, your next step, and you find your alignment. Taking the path less traveled and doing a little more then most are willing to do, can bring you great surprises, joy, and success.
Let’s talk about stillness first.
You can get so caught up in the day-to-day rushing around trying to get everything done, that one day turns into to the next, and soon six months have passed, and what’s happened? You are fried trying to keep up with your to do list, take care of your family, focus on your business, and oh yeah, time for you. You begin to feel like all you do all day long is rush from one thing to the next. When do you have time to think and figure out what you want? What is the next step in your business, what do want your life to look like? Does something need to shift or change?
This is where stillness comes in. Taking time to stop, recharge, and play a little, helps you find that stillness. Although, it is possible to create a little space for you and find the stillness even in the midst of chaos. Finding the stillness within, that quiet inside is so important to connecting to your higher self and linking in to your own personal navigation system. Finding your own personal navigation system is so important to staying on purpose and creating the fulfillment and joy you want in your business and personal life. If you don’t take the time to get still and tap in, you may find yourself busy going down a path you think you “should” be on or one someone else thinks you should be on, and sooner or later you wake up and think, “How did I get here?”
Finding this stillness doesn’t need to take a lot of time but does require a commitment to a mindfulness practice. Whether that is meditation, yoga, being out in nature… Finding what works for you and committing to it daily. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, it can make a tremendous difference. One thing I do through out the day is I have my watch set to remind me to breath every 30 minutes. This just gives me a check in to breath, ground, and get centered. To find the stillness within, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
When things start getting hard, frustrating, or you feel overwhelmed or stuck, take a moment to find the stillness. It may take a little while of finding the stillness, but then the fog lifts and clarity begins to dawn.
Finding the stillness within and tapping into your personal navigation system will often ask you to take a path that is less traveled or unknown.
This can be scary because it often means making a change and stepping into uncertainty. But, if you listen and take the path you are being asked to follow, you can reap many rewards personally and in business.
This is a theme that has come up over and over on my trip. A day didn’t pass that I wasn’t shown the benefits of taking the path less traveled or being willing to go a little farther then most people where willing to go.
Mary Kay used to say, “Successful people are the people who are willing to do what most people won’t.”
Nantucket was extremely busy as you can imagine in the middle of the summer. The beaches where packed but what we found is if we were willing to walk past the point that most people stopped, we soon found ourselves on an amazing quiet deserted beach.
When we where visiting Acadia National Park in Maine, it was crazy crowded. We chose to take several hikes that required a bit more effort in elevation and length and soon found ourselves completely by ourselves in an amazingly beautiful environment. It just kept reminding me that to break from the crowd and do something special, it takes a little more effort, a path, or choice less taken and the courage to get still, and listen to your own navigation.
In business this is often the case. You have decided to build your own business, and create the life you want. You have already taken a path less traveled.
Have the courage to get still and really listen and tap into your own personal navigation system. Trust the path that you know to be right for you.