We hear voices every day – internal and external. In fact, we are constantly bombarded with voices carrying some kind of message. It could be from some form of media – buy this, have this, do this, see this, etc… It could be an internal voice, “not good enough”, or reasons why things aren’t as they should be, why we aren’t where we should be or want to be, etc… Most of us are our worst critics. Think of it this way, if you were in a restaurant and were sitting close enough to the table next to you to hear what the couple was saying to each other. Imagine one of them speaking to the other the way that we speak to ourselves! We would be horrified! Voices upon voices, endless chatter. Which voice(s) do we listen to? Where is the signal in all that noise?
The answer is much easier than the process. The answer is, “We have to decide!” Of course. We have to take it upon ourselves to decide what we are about; what we stand for, what we value, and how we want to impact the world. It has to start with some form of contemplative thought, right? We need to get quiet for as long as it takes and write out who we want to be, what we want in this life, and how we will affect the world. Easy enough. Anyone can do that, right?
Now comes the hard part…locking it in!
The hundred-mile journey is still halfway at 90. Anyone can begin something, but few can bring it to a conclusion – Zen Lessons
The next step is locking it in with what is often called a DMO (Daily Method of Operation) or any practice which includes the process of bringing your vision into your conscious mind as frequently as possible. Make sense? We create it, and we reinforce it as much as possible! This is the part that separates many people from making it happen.
Here’s how we do it – as we often reference, Lori and I take a 5 mile walk every day on a local bike path. We each have headphones in, I have a splitter on my ipod so we can both be plugged into it, and we walk…fast. We listen to the same thing every day – Tony Robbins’ Daily Magic. The only exception is our Sunday walk when we just casually walk, talk, and connect. This Daily magic program takes you through thinking about what you are grateful for, what your vision for your future is, positively reinforces you throughout the walk, and finishes with a wonderful celebration and focus on turning up the energy in our lives and building gratitude. During these sections he leaves long blocks of time to work with your personal reinforcing mantra. It is during these sections that I use a few that I have developed over the months of this practice. The featured image is one of them, “Trust, work, believe, receive”. Very briefly, this works for me because I need to reaffirm my trust in a business that is still very new to me, and I need to trust Lori’s wisdom, guidance and acumen in this business. Next, I find it resonates with me more if I incorporate “work” – the Buddhist sayings like “chop wood, carry water”, “work first, then eat” and others like Ben Franklin’s “success is often not recognized because it is disguised in coveralls and looks like hard work” that have locked into me the value of work/action being essential in life. Personally, I can’t only “trust” or “ask”, I have to include “work”. Then, I have to truly believe that what I want is possible; really possible. Even more than that, I have to see it clearly in my mind as if it has already happened. Finally, I know that if I do those things I will receive. As sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, that’s how the universe works. It just is.
This mantra is locked in with every step an every breath. My breath is in rhythm with my steps and the words. It’s like this, I think “trust” on the out breath, I take an in breath, on the next step I think “work” on the out breath, I take another in breath and think “believe” on the next step, etc. I do this quickly as we are walking at a pace just under 5 miles an hour, over and over and over and over. I walk with purpose, determination and confidence, locking it into every fiber of my being. Yes!! It is hard to describe the feeling that comes from doing this – it is nothing short of euphoric. I truly believe this locks my vision in and creates the inevitable realization of it.
Call To Action! This is the process necessary to really lock it in. Decide what voice you want to listen to; what you want in this life and what you are about. Then come up with a mantra that captures it…and lock it in with gratitude and repetition! Feel powerfully grateful that you have already received it! We’ve all heard the word Touchstone. This is your touchstone! This is the representation of all that is important to you, your “why”, and your vision for your life. There is a huge boulder on our walk path which is close to the end of our walk (pictured below). This is literally our touchstone. This stone represents the entirety of our vision for our lives and what is important. Each day as we finish our walk, we put both hands on it and lock it in with a few seconds of silence…and a kiss (awww). True.
So decide where your signal is amidst the noise. Create a vision for it. And lock it in with sincere effort and gratitude…and it WILL be yours.
Peace
