Guiding Star #3: Can You Hear Me Now?

In this exercise, we're going to explore the deep messages of your recent life. Some are already obvious to you, but others need time and space to come to the light and find the courage to reveal themselves. These messages might become part of of your final Guiding Star Plan.

I hope you've noticed the materials have been exactly the same for every exercise.  They're going to stay that way, but I'll keep listing them as a reminder.

Materials: For this exercise, you will need something to write on or in.  A journal, a computer, or scratch paper - doesn't matter.  Unlike the previous two exercises, it is likely that these will be seen by your Buddy (and whoever else you choose).

Time: I recommend that you set a timer for 15 minutes.  Like yesterday's exercise, you probably won't be done in 15 minutes, but if that's all the time you have, take it.  If you have more time, aim for 30 minutes.  Of course you can keep going for as long as you'd like.

Can You Hear Me Now? Exercise

- From your list of accomplishments and disappointments, list 5-10 reflections, either what you've learned or what you wish you could learn.

Using the accomplishments and disappointments posted yesterday, here are some examples:

Persisting works

Breathe through the tough times

Sadness and happiness are partners

Failing sucks

Life is easy

Welcome! Here you are at the first creative challenge of the Guiding Star. Can you see that you're trying to take past experiences and turn them into guides for the future? If you haven't done this type of creating before, you might find yourself lost. Give yourself patience and time.  You can leave this unfinished today and return to it tomorrow.  Or even the day after.  Or next week.  By then, you'll have a better sense of what needs to come out and appear on the page.

- Mark the messages you feel you understand deeply with a check mark. 
- Mark the messages you think you need to pay attention to with a star.

- Using only the messages from the second group, rank them in order of the ones that mean the most to you to the ones that mean the least to you.

For example:

Persisting works with Alex now all the time.  He used to give up at the first sign of failure, but he's intentionally worked on sticking with projects for the past 3 years and feels a definite shift in his attitude.  So he's putting that in the first group.

However, Alex realizes he is really challenged by life's emotional ups and downs. He often shuts down when he is sad, even though he's certain there's a better way to cope.  So he's putting both Breathe through the tough times  and Sadness and happiness are partners in the second group.

After contemplating his list overnight, Alex has decided to rank them:

Breathe through the tough times

Sadness and happiness are partners

Failing sucks

While Alex has only 3 deep messages right now, the positive action of the first one already resonates deeply with him.  He's staying open to the possibility that more will surface as he goes through the rest of Guiding Star.

- Let your Buddy know when you're finished.

Always remember:

Positive works

Keep it brief
Feeling stuck? One-on-one assistance is available at the discounted rate of $30/hour through February 1, 2017 (Click here to schedule a session).

Congratulations! You're almost halfway!

Related Posts:
Find Your Guiding Star
Guiding Star #1: My Crystal Ball
Guiding Star #2: It Was The Best Of Times