Last month I wrote about the power of vision. If the first step to getting to where you’re going in your personal life and career is visualizing that place, what’s the next step?
Take action!
Taking action is a logical next step. But what if you don’t know which action to take? Do you consider yourself stuck? No. There is an action that we can take whenever we feel unsure about what to do next. It is a step that I call ‘clearing out’, a process that makes space for what you are wanting to receive.
Here are several personal and professional examples of this technique:
1. My children have learned to keep a lean closet of clothes and toys. If they no longer wear or use an item, they donate it to someone who will find use for it. This makes space in my children’s closet. Because of our belief in the ‘Give and Be Rich’ philosophy, this practice always returns something desirable to claim the space left by the discarded items.
2. My colleague Laurie always treated her administrative positions as if they were rungs on a ladder of success. She regularly cleared out her workload and workspace so that nothing was left undone. When she turned her positions over to others, she could easily train them and receive her new position with clear focus.
3. Say no, or let go. We do not benefit by taking on so much that we begin to look like Atlas, the Greek God who carried the world on his shoulders. Doing so only creates a façade of strength and power, when the real power comes from being true to ourselves. When we say no, we earn back from others the respect that we give to ourselves by honouring our own boundaries.
4. Perhaps there is something on your mind that’s bothering you. Taking the time to clear it out is worth the tremendous effort. With a clear mind and a clear heart, you can think clean and loving thoughts, and give and receive just that. Difficult conversations that must be had are like neon signs of opportunity that will lead you closer to your vision of the good life. Make them happen. Take responsibility for making relationships work. Clear your heart.
5. Leave the past behind. You cannot change the past. You can only make amends, apologize, forgive, learn and go forward. Write out your feelings of hurt or anger about a situation, and then write your visualization of the way that you would intend for it to be different if it were to happen in your future. Let it go. Free yourself. Clear your mind.
6. Play! Have you noticed that children don’t get stuck like adults do? They can always put down something that is bothering them and play with something else. It’s in our human nature to want to feel good. Putting things down for a while can give us the rest we need to return to our prime.
7. Re-oxygenate your entire vascular system with fitness. You can change your entire state of mind with just 15 to 30 minutes of physical exercise. Clear out the old, stagnant state and replenish your body with brand new energy. ‘Walking meetings’ are becoming a popular way for people to socialize and exercise at the same time.
8. Connect with your higher power, a mentor, or a positive influence to flush out your thinking and take in a different perspective. Sometimes when we are so close to something on an emotional level, a rational opinion helps us move through it — not around it, but through it. Clear out your challenges by grabbing hold of someone who can help bridge your journey toward your vision.
As we shift in our mind to give things up, grow and change, we need to maintain the bigger vision. Daily details can cloud our view of the goals we hold in our minds and in our hearts, or dampen our spirits, but a strong vision provides unwavering strength, and ‘clearing out’ to receive what we expect to manifest creates the space for new.
Penny