3 Ways To Listen To Your Inner Voice
“I hear you knocking but you can’t come in, I hear you knocking, go back where you been.” These are lyrics to a 1950’s song by Dave Edmunds. His lover has rebuffed him and now wants to return, but the song indicates the singer is not interested. Putting aside the return of a lover and looking at the lyrics from a different perspective helps shed light on a deeper idea. Do we truly listen to our inner voice when it comes knocking?
What is our inner voice? The inner voice is our conscience, perhaps our sense of right or wrong. Better still it is our intuition and our awareness. Our deeper understanding of feeling in control of our lives, while living true to our integrity and accountability to ourselves and to others. Even in the worst of times, we can tap into our inner voice for clarity and direction, if we know how to listen.
1. Be still
It becomes impossible to listen when we do not open that door. Ignoring problems or issues prevents our minds from finding a calm and peaceful place to retreat, think, and be still. Maybe we avoid that place; afraid of being one on one with our inner voice; of hearing the truth or being forced to acknowledge that real decisions remain only with ourselves, no matter how easy or difficult. Be still. Listen.
2. Stay accountable
There is a saying that “When left to themselves things have the ability to go from bad to worse.” When a person is unhappy and filled with uncertainty, there is a desire to remain in denial believing if the problems are ignored, they will just go away. No one gets hurt. The fact is that things will probably never get any better until you face the situation and take accountability for your own actions. The more things change the more they stay the same. And how’s that working out for you? Stay accountable. Acknowledge. Seek positive change.
3. Release fear and doubt
Author Roy T. Bennet says, “You will never follow your own inner voice until you clear up the doubts in your mind.” It is easy to be afraid of listening to ourselves, and following our own truth. Fear and doubt of what others will think, say or do. Living up to some expectation the world has of us. The expectations we place on ourselves.
Letting go of fear and doubt is difficult. Sometimes we need to quietly ponder and hone our instincts. Other times we need strong support systems, friends, and family, those who are in our corner, to help us and encourage true positive change. Follow your confident and clear intuition. You will know it when you truly hear it. When you listen.
