Don’t you think satnavs (GPS systems) are one of the most wonderful, useful, and empowering pieces of technology given to us in recent years? If you had inherited the same lamentable sense of direction that my dear mother appears to have passed on to me, then I think you may well agree!
Many years before the satnav came on the scene, my mum used to regularly exclaim, I just wish someone would invent a tell me where to go machine! When the day did finally arrive and the gadget was produced, my mum (along with my tech-obsessed Dad) was at the very front of the queue to get one, despite the initial extortionate price label.
The very concept that you could just get in your car, with a destination in mind, with nothing more than a postcode at your disposal, the machine would tell you a range of possible routes – i.e. how long it would take you, and how it would redirect you in the event of you making a mistake – was absolutely amazing. The best part of all was that no matter how many bizarre mistakes you might make, no matter how far you strayed from any logical route, at any given point you so decided, it would take you right home, safe and sound. This was, and still is, for me, not just a necessity, but a machine of magnificence!
The question of inner stability really got me thinking. My mind ruminated on what exactly it is inside us that, when the weather gets a bit whipped up and stormy or we feel a bit lost, allows us to achieve a sense of inner stability. What is it that manages to bring us safely back to that place within ourselves that feels right and feels like home?
I could not get away from the idea that our inner satnav boils down to having a strong sense of personal values and essentially living a life that is true to ourselves and right with our conscience. In the same way that the satnav will, without fail, take you home, your inner satnav, if set right and regularly refreshed, will take you home to the place that is right for you.
If we try to live a lie or life or pursue a path that is not aligned with these, then we will never have true peace and happiness. Neither will we be able to live with a sense of continuity and direction because something will feel very off. Our motivation will wane, and we will find ourselves feeling desperate for re-direction, wishing that someone would tell us what to do or where to go!
Installing or re-booting your personal satnav
In my own experience, and from conversations I have had with others on this topic, there are various things which are critical to installing or rebooting our internal sat-nav.
Firstly, we need a good sense of who we are, what we believe, what it is that motivates us, and effectively what our values are. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
It’s interesting though that questions around this are some of the hardest questions asked at interviews. For whilst people often prepare for the knowledge and skills questions, far less time is ever spent reflecting on our inner truths, i.e. not just what we know but who we are and what makes us so.
Another question that comes into play here is our complicated sense of self-esteem.
We can all too easily and potentially dangerously, wrap our personal sense of value, worth or identity up in what we do professionally or the material things that we have (or have not) acquired, or our personal image. If and when those things, for one reason or another, change in some way or even disappear, with this misplaced sense of values, we are in danger of feeling lost without a clue as to how to re-discover ourselves i.e. our way home to inner peace and stability.
So, the first critical point to installing or re-setting our personal satnav is taking time to think about who and what is important to us. Thinking about what makes us happiest in life, can help us identify our gifts and strengths. By considering how and where we can use these, either in our personal or professional lives, this can help fine-tune any changes, big or small we may need to make here.
Identifying what values are essential to us and creating a mental funnel through which we can filter our daily decisions and choice of words and actions, can help us live and act boldly and with clarity. When we find ourselves in danger of compromising on something that does not feel right, we can run the decision through our mental values funnel. If it doesn’t fit… we can say no!
Destination: Happiness.
Now, although I do have great faith in the satnav, we do have to decide some sort of destination for the machine to work effectively. The same can be said of our lives.
I believe very much in living purposefully. Part of that is taking a little space at the start of the day to plan for happiness and success. Trying to practise visualisation, just as a runner might before a great race, the way you might meet and interact with people in the day ahead and planning to feel happy and positive, is like fuel in the tank! Finding a few moments to reflect on the positive people and things in your life as part of this practice can help you find and embed your personal values. This allows us to clarify what brings us happiness, as a result of which we are more likely to notice opportunities throughout the day to do more of the happy stuff.
It is often said that how we spend the first hour of our day can dictate the rest of the day. Whilst this may not be entirely true or controllable in terms of things that may occur, it can influence how we act and react in even the most unexpected circumstance. I love the famous saying often attributed to the wonderful Oprah Winfrey;
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity!
I am neither this nor that…
Lastly, that question of self-esteem. The wonderful practice of Neti-Neti is a fabulous space to re-calibrate and realise we are not our things; we are not our jobs. We are spiritual beings, each with our flaws but also our unique and special gifts. If we do all things, from a place of truth and love, with an attitude of gratitude and a desire to give and share happiness with others, then we will live a life rich in happiness. We will have a sense of inner peace and stability, anchored in the knowledge that we are living a life, true to who we are and what we believe. Through regular time in prayer, meditation, or reflection, we can be confident that our very own machine of magnificence, our inner satnav, will always bring us safely home to true inner stability!
– Sarah Barnes, Leeds, UK
.
