WHAT NOW?…….Listen……..

How often do we complete a task or a goal and immediately ask ourselves, “What now?” Most of us in Western culture are so conditioned to think that we must constantly be busy or on-purpose in order to feel accomplished and worthy. From childhood, we’re rewarded for excelling at one thing or another while moments of downtime or contemplation are seen as lazy or falling behind. From a very young age, children are often being pushed and encouraged to meet a higher standard whose bar is continually being raised.

It’s no wonder that our society often associates success with how busy and in motion we are. Of course, it’s human nature to learn, grow and become wiser throughout our life, but an integral component needed to cultivate wisdom lies in being still and listening to our inner directive that can only be clear when we’re still.

So how do we retrain our deeply ingrained need to always be in motion in a sea of goals, accomplishments and check-lists? It’s essential that we first recognize the impulse to be in perpetual movement once we’ve accomplished a specific goal, to catch the thought as it arises.

Imagine that you’ve just completed your first acting class, a dream you’ve had since childhood. You’re feeling proud to have taken that leap and ventured into a new realm that has always been a calling yet felt too scary to pursue. You awake the next morning with a feeling of angst, a gnawing that won’t pass. Rather than continuing to be joyful of your triumph, you find yourself entertaining constant mind chatter that’s asking you what’s next. It’s essential in that moment to stop……put on the brakes of your zooming mind and remind yourself that it’s time to slow down, be still and listen.

You might ask yourself, “What is the highest vision that will build on my passion?” Allow insights to emerge from the stillness rather than trying to figure it out. Give yourself time to journal, walk in nature, indulge in a warm bath, or other practices that support contemplation. Simply making it okay to breathe, listen and give a sense of spaciousness will naturally invite your innate wisdom to emerge and lead the way.

So remember, when you ask yourself, “What’s next?” simply listen. You will be guided.