Voice of selfHave you ever thought about how you were raised and realised, ‘Actually, I don’t want to live my life like that.’ But you’ve felt stuck like you can’t let go and move forward without disappointing a lot of people?

Or have you found yourself in a moment questioning the life you’ve chosen to live and thought, ‘Maybe I’m on the wrong track here.’ But you don’t know what to do about it.

If you’ve had these or similar experiences, chances are the Universe is calling on you to take a different road to the one you always thought you’d walk. The Universe is tapping you on the shoulder and saying, ‘Excuse me, you’re not going to find happiness or peace living that way anymore because there are bigger things out there for you; there’s a whole new world waiting for you; it’s time for a different way.’

Most of the time you’ll resist that first gentle nudge to change or recalibrate your life because you’ll be comfortable where you are. Actually, if you’re honest with yourself, you won’t be that comfortable and sometimes you’ll feel like you’re playing a role you trained for but no longer like. You’ll be going through the motions every day but not feeling the fulfillment you thought you would. To the untrained eye your life may even look pretty great – but on the inside the life you’re living will feel kind of empty and unbalanced. You’ll know there’s something not right but you’ll tell yourself it’s just a phase and you should be grateful for what you have. But still that nagging voice will return, each time stronger and stronger than the last saying ‘Excuse me, that way isn’t going to work anymore.’

Unfortunately, things will usually get difficult for you around this time, particularly if you’ve never been allowed or taught to listen to your inner voice, that voice of self. Because that will be the nagging voice you hear inside you but you will mistrust it because your head will feel like it’s not in control. We are taught to balance and reason our way through every decision we make in our lives and yet, that other voice inside us pops its head up when we least expect it and throws everything out of balance.

That voice of self doesn’t really care about living a life that’s been neatly planned out for you by others. It doesn’t care how you were brought up or what your family, friends or society expect of you. It doesn’t care about the life you’ve planned for yourself either. It’s more interested in getting you on the track to be the most beautifully formed and wonderfully gifted person you can be. It’s on a mission is to help you pull apart the bits of your life that aren’t working so they can be cast adrift and replaced with something that is designed for you alone.

And yet you’ll try to drown out that voice because it’s not convenient and let’s face it, it’s downright disruptive. Maybe you’ll throw yourself into work and pretend you still love what you’re doing, or you could try to lose yourself in a relationship with someone you know will never be right. You might try drinking, partying or drugs, or make yourself so busy you feel constantly exhausted.

You might try some or all of those things.

But that voice will return again and again, until one day you’ll realise you can’t avoid yourself anymore. It might be a simple moment of clarity that arrives at the most unexpected time. Or sometimes, in extreme cases, you may be faced with some traumatic happening that forces you to stop and reassess. However it comes, in that moment you’ll realise it is time to follow your own path. You’ll realise that the structures you’ve built for yourself aren’t as sturdy as you thought and you need to let them fall into the dust.

You’ll realise it’s time to work out who you are and follow your voice of self because, regardless of what anyone else says or believes, you have a purpose on this planet and a path to follow. And in that moment you will courageously step forward on the most exhilarating, enlightening and terrifying journey of your life, the journey of self.