Heart Centred Habits.
Where do you see your Self in one year? In five years? In ten years?
A lovely friend of mine asked me that the other day, and it was a beautiful thing to ponder, and realise how much my daily actions have the power to either guide me towards those dreams, or pull me away from them. The past weeks I have spent a lot of time re-evaluating what it is that I was to be putting my energy into, and what is not serving me right now.
Something that has helped me be a little wiser with my energy, is getting clear on the life I want to create for myself. I found I was giving a lot of energy to things that actually were not serving the vision I have for my future.
Creating a space for clarity.
Structure and clarity has helped move me in the direction I am aiming for, while allowing me to notice where my energy is leaking into things that are not aligned with my dreams. Each day I plan out the things I need to do in my diary. Over the past two weeks, I have written a little note on each page - “Will this take you where you want to be? Is this serving your purpose?” I look over the to-do list, and take out stuff that is not directly helping me make my dreams and goals a reality. Often you will find you are making time for a lot of things that are not actually serving a purpose, and are distracting you from your dreams. This has helped me in reducing the unnecessary things, especially being someone who loves doing a million and one things all at the same time.
Image by Hannah Beth (@hannnahbeth)
Small, sustainable steps pave the way.
It is important to realise that in order to build healthy habits, sometimes focusing on one or two things at a time is much more powerful than trying to do it all at once.
We often compare ourselves to others who seem to “have it all” - the workout routine, thriving business, fulfilling social life etc. What we fail to see is that often, those habits were built over time. We fail to see that those people who are living their “dream life” had to build this over time. There were most likely times when they were solely focused on their business, with little time for socialising, or working out every day. Often the people we are comparing ourselves to built their lives by practicing focus and prioritisation.
I like to focus on one - two new habits every three months, so that by the end of the year, I may end up with a handful of new habits, that are supporting me in achieving my dreams. When we focus our energy, we are able to do much more, as our energy is not scattered. Although one or two habits may not seem like a lot, once you reflect back on a whole year of doing this, you may just be surprised how much has changed in your life, and how much closer to your dreams you are.
Allowing for spontaneity and exploration.
That being said, there is a lot of value in the non linearity of our creative processes, and the spontaneity of being able to diverge from our path, and try something different. That sometimes we need to spend time on, immerse ourselves in, things that do not necessarily make sense right now.
Over the past few years I have gone on many tangents, deeply immersing myself in things that were seemingly unrelated. And then suddenly everything falls together, and you realise just how important all the seemingly unrelated pieces are. So, there truly is no right or wrong way, some days direction and clarity may be what you need. Others, going on tangents and flowing with the natural cycles of your mind, your process, may be serving you best.
Take a moment each morning to truly listen to what your body, your mind, your heart need. Schedule time into your week to prioritise play and exploration, alongside your goal orientated actions. Go to that dance class, practice a new language, read the book that sparked your curiosity, learn a new skill. You never know where these tangents will take you, and what valuable insights you may have on the way. Finding a balance between the linearity of having direction and the flow of exploration is a beautiful gift to give yourself.
Image by Hannah Beth (@hannnahbeth)
Tips for creating heart centred habits.
Take some time and gain clarity on your dreams and the future you wish to create. Ask yourself:
- What are you dreams in life?
- Where do you want to be in five years from now?
- What is the life you want to create for yourself?
If you are struggling with this, click here for a guided visualisation mediation, that will support you in uncovering your dreams.
Once you have clarity on your dreams, start to break them down. Ask yourself:
- What do you need to do to make this dream a reality? Maybe you need to enrol in more education, start saving up, move to a new country etc. Whatever it is for you, get really clear on tangible steps that will get to where you want to be.
- From this point continue to break down those steps into smaller and smaller goals. Ask yourself, how can you be taking tiny steps each day, that will make this dream a reality?
- Once you have a list of small actions or habits that will guide you towards your dreams, you can begin to integrate them into your day-day life.
In all of this, remind yourself to enjoy the in between spaces. Savour the space between where you are right now and where you want to be. Practice gratitude for the lessons and insights on the way. The journey holds as much pleasure and beauty as the destination.
If you’re curious to dive deeper into habits and their future impact, I did a little IGTV on this - click here to watch, or reach out to me to work with me in a coaching container that will support you on the journey of creating a life you are deeply in love with.
If this post resonated with you, share it with a friend, or pop me an email sharing your experiences with heart centred habits. I would love to hear about the tools that help you, so please don’t feel shy to reach out, and share your thoughts on this post.
All love
x
