Mindfulness - Page 3

I’m sure many of us have heard the phrases “intuitive nudge” or “intuitive insight.” While those phrases refer to the same thing and are pretty common, many of us have yet to interpret their importance to understand the power of intuition fully. Some refer to it as the still, small voice, while others describe it as the sense of knowing what decision they should make in certain situations. But often, we disregard those feelings, sensations, and inner knowings to please ourselves — thank your ego — which ultimately leaves us reflecting on our choices with thoughts like, “something told me I should/should not have done..” Those reflections pinpoint that your intuition was indeed at work, but you chose to go against its advice. 

Repeating this type of behavior will eventually cause the inner voice to become quieter and quieter until you won’t recognize it if it is trying to get your attention. But the bright side is that intuition is always there, but we must be fully aware of its ability to guide us in the right direction to see its actual benefits. Until you can recognize and trust your intuition, your custom, built-in guidance system, you stop short of harnessing the potential it can have in your life. 

So, what are some ways you can recognize the power of your intuition? Below are three ways to pinpoint that your intuition is trying to give you information. When you receive this type of insight, you must use it to your advantage. 

1. Recurring thoughts. 

It’s more than a notion. When you’re going about your day and start receiving ideas – for the sake of this article, let’s say, for example, thoughts relating to a decision you need to make. Maybe you’ve been bouncing back and forth on what to do, but you continue receiving information about the decision. Most of the time, these thoughts you receive will be the same thought over and over, and it will indicate what you need to do. Whether you act on the decision right away or wait until a later time, the information will be the same.  

2. Strong feeling from within. 

It’s usually through our emotions that intuition can provide clues on things we may be unsure about. It’s a bit different from fear – even though fear is an emotion – because your intuition is not rooted in fear and doesn’t fearfully speak to you. What it does is speak to you with clarity and definiteness. The strong sensations you feel within the body alert you that something important is going on. That urge from within is powerful and temporarily disrupts you so that you can look at it and make an intuitive decision instead of the wrong one.

3. Knowing without explanation. 

Sometimes we can know things because we know. It doesn’t take a thorough explanation, but like the reference above relating to the intense feeling from within, sometimes insight comes to us so quickly we don’t need to question it; we know. And that type of certainty doesn’t need logic, especially when no doubts interfere with the insight you’ve received. You know from within that it’s something you can trust.

In Short

Intuitive guidance can be the determining factor between making a good decision and a bad one. When we listen to the logical mind, we can practically approach things based on what we or someone else has experienced in a similar situation. But when we rely on the guidance that our inner self is giving us, we can rest assured that we will reap the benefits of following in full faith.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thankfully, I’ve been fortunate enough to realize that obstacles, challenges, setbacks or whatever name you choose to categorize something in your way — it’s never permanent. Even if it seems that way obstacles can often be looked at as pivoting points in which we can gain knowledge, insight, and direction if we’re willing to stop long enough to analyze what’s happening. 

Over the course of my entrepreneurial journey and even as I continue I experienced my share of obstacles as I’m sure many others have but I’ve never let that stop me from moving forward. If anything, once I experienced enough of them (there’s no magic number!)  I learned to take a closer look at why things weren’t happening in the way that I’d expected. But I didn’t dwell on it. Eventually, I ended up learning that it didn’t benefit me to backtrack my steps in hopes of pinpointing exactly why the obstacle had come about but rather to realize that in the present moment I was faced with a challenge and my next steps were most important. I learned to be present.

What this meant for me was that I could now decide on the plan of action going forward. What adjustments do I need to make on my end? Which action steps do I take to overcome this obstacle? Questions like these helped me to realize that in the experience of the obstacle my lightbulb alerted me that I need to put some thought into what I was doing as far as the work was concerned; This helped me cultivate mindfulness. Did I miss a few steps? Could this have been better? Another flip side of encountering a challenge is you’re forced to slow down, you’re forced to take a closer look; This teaches you patience. In addition to mindfulness and patience, there’s a great amount of value in every obstacle if you make an honest effort to pull the positive aspects from it. 

Obstacles help refine your character because you’re alerted to be mindful and patient. If you treat obstacles as an opportunity to learn, you will gain something from it. Even if it was an unpleasurable experience. What did you learn? How can you improve or make adjustments going forward? Also, if you have the power to choose your thoughts, why not choose a positive thought from the experience? So in a way, you’re reinforcing positivity no matter the situation.  

Culturally, we’ve been in a place of blame and fault when it comes to obstacles or challenges with thoughts like “why is this happening to me,” or “it’s not my fault that..blah, blah, blah.” I know things happen that are beyond our control but I’m learning aside from the things that happen on the surface, we always have the ability to learn from the experience. Any opportunity to learn and grow is always beneficial, it’s for your greater good but how are you to learn when things are always going your way? This question I always try to keep in mind when I’m working on a project and for whatever reason, an obstacle pops up. 

Taking that break to tend to whatever challenge is happening allows you to pause and reset. It may be an instance where you catch a crucial mistake in your work or you find that you have more creativity to add to a project making it better or maybe the obstacle is just there so you’re forced to slow down — teaching you mindfulness and patience. Either way, it’s all for your benefit, your greater good.

When things don’t go as planned – and it happens all the time – I think about the countless attempts I made to start writing a book. I had the general idea and the basic concept of what I wanted to convey, but as I started to draft up the first chapter, I would find myself backspacing my first round of sentences until the cursor was the only thing on the page.

Self-doubt often creeps in when you allow other people to have a say in the things you do. Familiar voices of those with whom I’d (reluctantly) shared my book idea danced around in my head, smirking and snickering at my ambition. I remember being asked questions like “Why do you want to do that?” and “Don’t you think you’re wasting your time?” as if to imply that I should be content not utilizing my creativity.

When I finally got the nerve to complete a paragraph or two, I’d move on to the next block of writing until I was satisfied with what I’d written, and eventually I finished it. That very first manuscript is still tucked away in a filing box in my attic (a suspense-filled drama about a narcissistic undercover assassin who tries to balance her miserable personal life with the twisted demands of the mysterious agency she works for). I don’t know if it’ll ever be one of my published works, but the point is that I continued to write until I reached my goal and only because I forced myself to listen to myself and not others.

As I look back on my personal accomplishments, I can’t help but imagine what my life would be like if I’d listened to the criticism of friends and detractors alike, if I had let them talk me out of my creative ideas. When it comes to seeing your visions through, sometimes it requires being on guard and being careful with whom you share your plans.

I don’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t share your dream with others, since it can be in your interest to lean on others for help and encouragement (as well as to inspire others on their journeys with your passion and determination), but it’s wise to keep your cards close to your chest. Don’t give away too much. People have strange motivations, usually selfish ones, when it comes to anything related to money and success, and as such they’ll often belittle your attempts or provide their own perspective on what you should or shouldn’t be doing and how.

Don’t let it get that far. Protect your dream. It’s your baby, after all. You gave birth to it and are nurturing it toward maturity and independence. Allowing someone else to dictate how we should or should not tend to our “child” when we’re being guided by faith and intuition robs us of our creative power and decreases any chance we have of living out our dreams.

A friend one told me about his idea of starting a program providing entertainment and activities for assisted-living communities. He often volunteered at several of these facilities and talked about how much joy he gets his time with the residents.

As the story unfolded, he talked about how he shared the idea with friends who tried to dissuade him from pursuing the idea. While his passion lied prominently between helping youth and the elderly communities, instead of encouraging him, those friends were more interested in enjoying his company as a drinking buddy during Thursday Happy Hour than to hear him rattle on about his desire to help the elderly. It’s not that they were being jerks; they were just serving their own interests, or were jealous, or reacting out of envy and frustration with their own lack of initiation.

After thinking things through, my friend decided to ignore them and walk in the direction he wanted to be heading: he began volunteering at local assisted-living and retirement centers. He truly enjoys the work that he does, providing weekly enrichment through music and art. Had he been too caught up with what his friends thought about his decision to launch entertainment-based programs for the elderly, he’d likely have bypassed his own desires and be at the bar right now, throwing back shots of tequila.

Give someone an opening and that little seed of doubt gets planted in your head. It might can even take root and block out the sunlight. It’s enough that you must work to maintain positive thinking habits for yourself – that alone takes discipline, time, and effort. Now factor in someone else’s notions, chatter, dilemmas, problems, or daily highlights, and you may not get the validation you were hoping for.

Follow Your Map

As I’ll explain later, you’ll want to create a map for yourself and your vision. As long as you have that to remind you to stay on the path you’ve laid out for yourself and your ventures, you won’t have to rely on anyone to give you the green light, to propel you into acting, or even to approve of your efforts. Yes, there are advantages to working with others, taking advantage of services, or outsourcing to experts, but as we begin to put things in perspective and set goals in our own lives, cheerleaders are not required.

A lot of people will simply try to scare you out of reaching your potential because they themselves are not equipped for the job. Consider whom you’re sharing your vision with so you’re not discouraged when talking about your plans. You simply don’t need permission to reach for the stars.

We have choices, just as our neighbor has choices. Choose to live your dream by putting aside whatever criticism or backlash you’ve endured if it’s in your heart to truly press forward. I can’t imagine where I’d be if I took every piece of criticism personally or became discouraged to the point that I felt the urge to throw in the towel on my dream. Everyone has their own opinions, but it’s their opinion to have. Don’t be distracted by those who are not on board with your vision. At the end of the day, it’s your lil red wagon to push or pull.

Start by writing down your goals, post them where you will see them every day, and use deadlines: “within six months,” “by January 1, 2020,” “five-year anniversary,” etc. Use specific categories as well: personal, professional, development and training, financial, etc.

Use that courage muscle: think big and think different. There should be some risk inherent to your business, otherwise there’s no element of differentiation for your brand. What are you offering that others aren’t? What part of you are you offering that no one else has? What’s the one stand-out quality of your brand’s offering? What

Always have another goal, a loftier dream. What happens when you reach your first goal? Will you sit back and ride it out (and hope that the success lasts), or will you continue to strive?

Realize that life is complicated and messy. Things don’t always go as planned. You don’t have to tell anyone – just correct course and keep moving forward. Be sure to mentally note this lesson and plan for future problematic scenarios like this.

Check in on the timeline regularly and see if you’re on track. The timeline is fluid, but your evolution should be constant. If you’re not making progress, figure out why. What obstacles are in your way, and how can you use them to your advantage? (See the chapter on obstacles for more advice in that regard.)

Summary:

This week we chat with Tatiana Grant of Detroit-based businesses Infused PR and Flash Delivery. Tatiana describes the work and energy necessary to become an entrepreneur in both the PR and delivery application worlds. She also gives us key strategies for keeping our bodies and minds healthy and focused, and points out the power of organization in making management manageable.

Show Notes:

Tatiana Grant’s start-up of Flash Delivery

• Started out doing PR for professional sports
• Looking for taco delivery on cold rainy night in Detroit
• Asked to talk to 50-75 people involved in Flash Delivery type industries
• Met someone working on a similar idea who became a business partner

How was Infused PR different from Flash Delivery?

• Became freelance PR during downturn; companies losing full-time PR and looking for contract work so Tatiana did well
• Did work for future mayor of Detroit; work picked up from there
• Picked up Michigan McDonald’s account
• 95% of business from referral and word of mouth

Tools and strategies

• Project management tool to manage group work
• Organization
• Prayer, meditation, inner strength
• Keep finances in order
  
  

Key Points:

1.  Word of mouth can be your most powerful asset in public relations.

2.  Being open to new people and meetings, even with potential competitors, lead Tatiana to finding a business partner for Flash Delivery.

3. Project management is key to organizing groups of people to efficiently accomplish a project.

4. Credit can take a long time to be rebuilt; be careful about taking on too much debt too young.

Tweetable Quotes:

–    I think I enjoy the madness of being in it, and then when it’s done looking back and having the fulfillment of ‘Oh my Gosh I can’t believe I made this happen.”– Tatiana Grant

–       “Really get people’s opinions: what do they think of it, how much would they be willing to pay for it, how frequently would they use it, don’t just keep your layers of positivity on there.” – Tatiana Grant.

–       “Keep going, keep yourself motivated, keep yourself intact, whatever it takes to let you be the best you, make sure that that happens.” – Tatiana Grant.

Resources Mentioned:

• https://www.tatianagrant.com
• @tatianadgrant on Instagram