“Your mind only knows some things. Your inner voice, your instinct knows everything. If you listen to what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path.”
—Henry Winkler (the actor)
On my flight home from California, I
started a conversation with the gentleman next to me. It began as one of
those simple, “Are you going home? Where have you been? Was it fun or
for work?” It quickly turned into a conversation where he was telling
me joke after joke…and they weren’t funny. He thought they were, and I
politely laughed and wished that I had some of those noise canceling
headphones that I see advertised on T.V.
I excused myself from our discussion so I could feign taking a nap. Sitting there with my eyes closed, I contemplated the retreat that I am writing around my book, “Fruitful Leadership; Leading By The Fruit of the Spirit.”
Speaking of noise canceling headphones, it’s very necessary to shut out the voices outside of ourselves who tell us (or have told us) who we are. Those voices aren’t us. When I was little, the other kids on the playground didn’t want to pick me for their team because I was too small to help them win. My dad didn’t believe that girls should go to college. (What? Were women not as smart as men?) The clincher was that my dad didn’t want me. He was frustrated with my mom that she was pregnant with a third child. Yes, Mom told me and others…because she was happy that she had me. Mom had no idea that fact hurt me, until I told her later on in life.
As a child, those outside voices labeled me–too small, not smart enough and unwanted. We need to strip those voices away and return to listening to our inner voice intuitively, like we used to as children, before we allowed others to label us. It’s that still small voice within, that I believe is the voice of our Spirit, the Divine. This concept is going to be shared along with the fruit of kindness, because I think we need to be kinder to ourselves.
I mean, really, have you listened to your self-talk lately?
We need to put on The Spirit headphones to cancel out the external chatter that chips away at our self-worth. That inner voice then gets stronger and louder. It’s that inner voice that tells us we are more than enough, we are brilliant, we are loved by others and we are worthy of what we desire. That inner voice knows more about you than anyone else. That inner voice has your back and wants the very best for you.
Be still…really…be still. Listen in to your inner voice. You’ve not lost that voice, you’ve just been too busy to listen. What does it say about you? If it belittles, that’s not your voice and needs to be ignored. Your inner voice will build you up, remind you Whose you are, refresh your memory of your incredible strengths and yes, how you can have a positive impact on your world…just as you are!
Listening intently,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
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