“When the Universe Whispers – Listen” Tip for the Day: Pay Attention To Your Life

I thought I had it all planned out about six years ago – my job, my home, basically my life. Even though I rarely had written down my goals (I am embarrassed to admit), I knew where I wanted to go, what I wanted to be and have. Well, at least I thought I did.

My Journey - (Or at Least What I Thought It Was)

Funny thing happens when you are steadfast in thinking as to what you “think you need”, as a result, you forge your way like a workhorse on a farm and keep going. Despite the bumps, twists and turns along the way, many of us are bound and determined to keep our eye on the prize to go for that goal, no matter what kind of path we take to get there. Or, at least, the path we think we should take to get there.

However, what we think is the path to our personal/professional success may not always be the only way, or the best way. In fact, keep your ears open because there may be a crossing guard trying to steer you in a new direction. The key is to pay attention and listen.

Listen

In my opinion, listening gets underrated. It’s not only a huge component to maintaining and cultivating relationships; it really is a form of education for all of us. When we think we may know it all, 9 times out of 10, we don’t. By listening, we have the ability to fine-tune our intellect – aesthetically, physically, spiritually and emotionally. And, to be honest with you, some of the most educational advice I have received isn’t from a neighbor, friend, colleague or spouse, it’s from one of my dearest friends – The Universe.

Before you think I am getting too hokey, sit and think for a moment. I know that there isn’t specifically a person called The Universe (although I am sure some major narcissists would beg to differ!) but there is something to be said for the clues that The Universe sends, ever so slightly, to guide you along the way.

Notice What’s Working and What’s Not

Let’s take for example my life. If I sit back and think about what has felt “forced” in my lifetime, I can write a laundry list for you. You know, the times when you gut tells you to do something and you do something else. That is example of universal intervention. It’s the time when you feel too tired to drive and you do so anyway only to accidently forget to put your parking break on only to return from your gym workout to see it missed a brand new BMW by five inches in the gym parking lot. (Yes, it happened to me – ugh!)

Or, on the positive flip side, when you are sitting with a friend and they so happen to talk about someone whom you have been dying to meet as they are one of your professional mentors from afar. You eyes bug out like a Bugs Bunny cartoon when you call the number on the business card given to you and you realize that this professional has been waiting to meet you, too. Fast forward a year later, you two are great friends and have a great professional relationship, as well. How good does it feel when things, dare I say, fall eerily into place?

The Detour – A Change Of Plan

This is The Universe talking to you whether you know it or not. He is whispering for you to pay attention to your life.

He wants you to notice the ways in which you keep moving forward, the ways we are trying to get ahead and when and if those plans need a bit of readjusting.

I am a major control freak when it comes to how I think I should be doing something. Could it be the Taurus the Bull in me or my Viking genes? (I am proudly 50% Norwegian) Whatever the case may be, I have always had an idea in my head on how to get stuff done. However, that mental template is not always right, in fact, I hate to admit it, most of the time, it’s not.

I may be on target with my goals – like becoming a teacher and a transition coach, but how to get to those goals may not have been what I had expected. In fact, they were nothing like I had expected. Thank goodness I decided to sit back and listen to the gently guiding of those little voices in my head (or voices of others such as my conscience, The Universe, or other spiritual beings.)

I had a plan B. And that plan B was to take inventory on what seemed forced in my life and what was coming to me a bit more easily.

Most of the professional obstacles I have faced, I can now happily surmise, happened for a reason, because there were bigger things ahead. Back in the day, I wanted to be a – instructor, however, I was encouraged to go back for a second graduate degree in writing. So, me being me, I signed up a graduate program in writing the very next week. Although I love teaching and being a student, something just didn’t’ seem right. I had just finished my first grad degree the previous year and I was going for another one. I missed my kids too much to be working – and have my head being buried in a textbook for another two years.

Take Inventory Of Your Life

It was then I had to take inventory of my life, sit back and see what I was going to do next and to see where things have gone where I may not have noticed. It was at that point, I listed the clues that I hadn’t seen. The word coach kept occurring day-to-day, my library of success principle books had grown tremendously, and my thirst for online knowledge of the coaching process was what I explored on rainy Sundays when I was sitting at my computer. The funny thing was, I didn’t really notice all of these clues until I took inventory and decided to listen to The Universe.

Five years later, I have incorporated what I have learned as a teacher into my coaching practice, which has taken me places I never would have imagined. My point is, I may not be here writing to you had I not taken a step outside my action plan, the plan that I had made when I was in my early thirties but didn’t necessarily have passion for now that I was about to be 40. What interested me five years prior no longer interested me at that moment. I had to readjust, rethink, reinvent my plan.

Be Flexible With The Plan But Focused On The Goals

So, when you are thinking about where you want to be in a year, five years or twenty, know that how you get there, and even how you define your success, may change. Even when I was a part-time at Brookdale Community College, I always called myself an “academic coach” never realizing I could take my view of coaching to it the next level.

Pay attention to your life. Pay attention to those little voices inside your head that may steer you in a new, more exciting direction.

Reach outside your comfort zone but that comfort zone may not be that comfortable at all. Keep thinking ahead and dreaming about your future and just know that The Universe has a big plan for you – just make sure you are ready, willing and eager to hear what it has to say.

For more transition tips, go to my Facebook Fan Page http://bit.ly/bxDjl8.