Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the self-help resources available to you? As a holistic health coach and wellness podcaster, I am constantly surrounding myself within the self-help community. As much as I adore learning and growing on this path towards wellness, it can be difficult to strike a healthy balance; a balance between growing your self-awareness and expanding as an individual, but also trusting that you’re completely perfect JUST as you currently are.
It seems that a majority of us “self-help seekers” are continually striving to be a future (and “better”) version of ourselves, and while there is nothing wrong with seeking outside guidance, we seem to have lost touch of the most important resource we have. Our intuition.
Perhaps we need to give ourselves a little more credit and honor to what we already intuitively know to be true — we are pretty freaking amazing. Each and every one of us has exactly what we need within ourselves to become the best versions of who we want to be. As the fabulous Danielle Laporte puts it, “YOU are your own guru.”
Try this exercise for a moment…
Find a comfortable seat and close your eyes. Now, take a few moment to tune into your breath and connect to your body. Once you feel settled, begin envisioning the best version of you. Who do you see? What are you doing? How are you feeling? When you’re ready, open your eyes, and jot down your vision in a notebook.
And here is the great news – that person you imagined is already alive within you. No fixing or changing needed. The real work comes in learning to bring her out and providing yourself the space and confidence to shine.
Now, getting in touch with your intuition can be a tough job! But, the more you allow yourself the time to go inward and quiet the mind, the easier it becomes. Everyone is different, so finding a meditative practice that works for you may take some experimentation. My go-to practices include yoga, meditation, and journaling. They help bring me back into my body and allow me the space to connect to my deeper-self.
Detoxing from all of the self-help out there is challenging for us wellness lovers, but I promise you it is a refreshing change of pace! To help me create some distance and focus inward, I did a little experiment. For an entire week, I challenged myself to take a break from all outside information. I stopped myself from diving into my favorite spiritual books and podcasts, and I left all the latest newsletters and astrology updates aside. I knew that I needed to clear my mind from what everyone else was recommending I do for self-improvement and learn to trust myself instead. And you know what? It was incredibly refreshing!
I realized that my mind was constantly spinning with all of the latest wellness trends, books I needed to read, or spiritual bloggers I needed to follow. I was continuously looking for guidance outside of myself. My mind was constantly living in the future as opposed to really living into, and taking joy from, the present moment. It became clear that even though my self-help addiction was moving me in a positive direction, I was also missing the lessons life was trying to teach me by simply living in the now. I was missing what my intuition was already guiding me to do.
I think we need to trust that even though there are millions of resources out there for spiritual growth and happiness, when it really comes down to it, WE are our greatest teachers. Deep down, we know exactly what our body is telling us to do and in which direction we need to go. Although it is great to learn from the experts, and to find the practices that most resonate with us, it is also comforting to remember we are just as capable of listening to ourselves for the guidance we so often seek. Sometimes it is nice to take a spiritual detox and let yourself lead the way.
And when I finally came back to my spiritual books and my podcasts, I felt a greater sense of ease. There was peace in knowing that although I had all these wonderful tools and practices, the greatest teacher had been living inside of me all along.
Author: Nina Boyce
Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: Nina Boyce is a holistic health coach and choir director from Columbus, OH. After struggling with anxiety and hormone imbalance for years, she turned towards an all-natural lifestyle to heal her body. Nina is passionate about helping her clients reclaim their energy, nourish their bellies and achieve overall balance in their lives. When she isn’t coaching or teaching, you can find her flowing on her yoga mat, hanging with her hubby and pup Jaxon or chatting all things wellness and spirituality on her podcast, Wine and Shine. You can also catch on Instagram.
Link to your social media or website: Instagram @nourishedwithnina | http://www.nourishedwithnina.com
