Have you ever been so busy with work and life, constantly in the motion and in the doing, that at the end of the day, you felt it’s just another day went by and tomorrow it’s going to be all over again? Do you find that there’s got to be something more to your life?
Call it the monotony of life, boredom, an inner restlessness or nagging-ness. Most people will face this situation at some point, and they will either start seeking for answers or remain in denial and simply get by.
Seeking means opening up to possibilities, whereas denial leads to dead-end. If you are facing this situation now, I truly hope you belong to the former group.
The question now is, where do we start and how do we seek?
Just by thinking about this question can be overwhelming and it’s no surprise that people start to procrastinate and end up remaining in the ‘busyness’ of their daily grind.
Truth is, we all an have inner voice (or inner man) within us that can reveal more about our truest or deepest hopes, dreams and desires. If you shows signs of restlessness, it means something is out of place. Your inner man is probably crying out, waiting eagerly for you to listen to his voice.
I believe the first step to discovery is to stop everything we are doing, tune out from the world, spend some quality time with ourselves and simply try to listen to what our inner voice is saying.
There are many ways to do so. I know for a start this can be hard, so here I’m going to share some great ways that can help you get ‘tuned-in’ to your inner voice.
Tip #1 – Get Outside and Soak Into Nature
We know that mother nature has a calming effect on our minds and souls. We feel very much alive and relaxed simply with a change of environment.
Just imagine.
You are sitting or lying on a rolling green hill watching the clouds go by. Perhaps you are lazing by a beautiful beach on a deck chair or on a swinging hammock. What about taking a walk in a lovely park or forest on a sunny day and get some fresh air? Or maybe taking a hike up a hill to enjoy the beautiful scenery and cool weather?
Isn’t these wonderful? While enjoying nature, we might even lose track of time or secretly hope it can lasts longer.
When your mind is emptied of all stress, worries and other ‘noises’, that’s where your inner voice can start speaking with clarity.
In fact, inspirations and aspirations will come much easily during this peaceful time, so be sure to always carry a small notepad for jotting down those impromptu thoughts. Writing them down on paper helps because these are probably the truest thoughts that matter most to you. We will lose track of these thoughts once we get back into the world and continue with our daily tasks, so this serves as a good reference and reminder.
You can also use a notepad app in your phone to record it down, but make sure that you don’t get distracted and start checking out emails and social media sites, which will add more clutter to your mind and cloud your thoughts instead.
So take regular ‘breaks’ from technology, get outside and simply enjoy the beautiful nature that God created. Spend some time with yourself and start pondering about your ideal life, dreams, hopes and desires and see where it leads.
Tip #2 – Listen to soothing music
As the saying goes, ‘music soothes the salvage beast’.
Or how about this quote from Victor Hugo, ‘Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent’.
There’s just something about music that can stir up our inner being and bring out our deepest emotions. The right kind of music will help set you in the right frame of mind and enable you to tune into your inner voice easily. In general, music with slow, calming and soothing tempos can help to ease your mind.
I find that the best music genres to stir up retrospection and introspection are new age (spa/meditation etc), jazz/soul, instrumental (guitar, piano solos, orchestral, classical), chill-outs and oldies from the 60s-70s.
In this age of advanced technology, access to all music genres is no longer an issue. There are so many great internet streaming radios that you can tune in for free. Some good ones are Live365, Sky.fm and Spotify. My personal favorite is Spotify because they have a massive music collection for all genres and for a low monthly fee of $9.99, I can store music tracks on my mobile phone so that I can access them even while I’m offline (it’s free for online streaming!).
Here are a couple of my favorite playlists on Spotify for self-reflection moments:
Susan Boyle – Standing Ovation
Suzanne Ciani – Meditations For Dreams, Relaxation and Sleep
Chester Tan – Best Of Piano Spa Serenity
Jazzy Playlist For a Little Quaint Cafe
Café Chill Lounge Club – Club De Paris – Traditional French Cafe Music
Secret Garden – The Best Of Secret Garden 20th Century Masters
If you find that you dream up or draw inspiration more easily from other genres like alternative or softrock, then by all means go for whatever works for you.
So put aside everything else, grab your journal or close your eyes and relax on the couch, put on some music and let your mind wander (or fall asleep!).
Tip #3 – Engage your passion
What are your passions and interests? What do you like to do in your free time? What are some of your hobbies?
Often, our inner voice speaks to us through our passions and interests. I’m sure most will agree that we feel happiest or most at peace doing the things we love.
Life is not all about work and no play. Everyone of us has a creative side that needs to be nurtured, which can make us more of a rounded and balanced person.
By creative, I’m not referring to only artistic attributes like painting, singing or playing an instrument. While these are great passion, I’m also referring to the ability to create using our talents and skills.
It can be writing, gardening, baking, running, dancing, blogging, body-building, coding an app, tinkering with machines or even building Lego figurines. It can be anything as long as we creating something or doing something that we love.
I believe God created and gifted everyone of us uniquely, so we need to discover where our talent lies and work on cultivating them, to the point where we can happily share our ‘creation’ with others, so that they too can benefit from our gifts.
The fact that God made this universe shows how creative he is, so I believe we are born to create, just like our maker.
It doesn’t mean we have to turn our passions into our careers. While its great that we can earn a living doing what we love, it’s not always possible or viable for everyone. However, anyone can work on cultivating their talents and passion, it just requires attention and action.
If you have yet to discover your talents, you can take baby steps to find them. Often the best way to discover is by doing. Start by doing things that interest you.
For instance, if you are interested in cycling, you can join cycling interest groups and participate in their group activity. If you are keen at baking, consider taking baking classes or simply research on recipes and try your hand on baking something.
By doing it and experiencing it real-time, you will soon find out whether you are good at it, or whether it is interesting enough for you to invest more time and energy to become better at it.
Tip #4 – Read
“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~ Oscar Wilde
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~ Charles William Eliot
As the saying goes, ‘Knowledge is Power’. Sometimes reading of good books can be just the solution we need whenever we feel stuck.
Everyone of us is limited in our knowledge, perception and world-view. Nobody can be a know-it-all (good luck if you think you are!). We don’t know what’s possible out there or what’s outside our own little world, until we read about what’s happening in other people’s world.
We all came from different background and grew up in unique environment, which shaped us into who we are today. Reading helps to open up a whole new dimension in our mind and exposes us to new thoughts, theories, concepts and realities, which we will be unaware of otherwise. You might even come across something so powerful or inspiring that changes your mindset and thinking, causing you to develop a new outlook and excitement in life.
Books are often the best teachers in life. And because they are readily accessible, it’s an equal educational field for all, so there’s really no excuse not to read. Apart from buying books from physical and online book stores, a cheaper way is to borrow from friends, join a book club to exchange books, buy books from second-hand bookstores, borrow books from libraries (my fav!), or buy ebooks and kindle books if you don’t like to carry hard copies or store them at home.
Truth is, learning (and progression) is for life and there’s no end to it. I encourage you to develop a love for reading and learning. You’ll be surprised how some books can speak right to your inner man or change you. It’s like an inner switch in your brain that is being turned on. Once this happens, you can’t undo the learning and go back to where you are.
As I mentioned earlier, reading of good books help, so it’s not just any type of books. While fictional story books can be good reads, they often provide entertainment value more than education. I find that the best types are those from self-development and biography genres.
Below are some of the books that change my realities. Hopefully, you will soon have your own list to share.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – By Robert Kiyosaki
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants – By Malcom Gladwell
7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lesson In Personal Change – By Steven R. Covey
Wisdom Meets Passion: When Generations Collide and Collaborate – By Dan Miller/Jared Angaza
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich – By Timothy Ferriss
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? – By Rick Warren
Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World – By Michael Hyatt
Wrapping Up
So there you go, the first part to ‘How to hear your inner voice’, which means there is a part 2 coming! Well, I decided to break it up into 2 parts because this post will get really long if I am to cram everything here.
In part 2, I have another 3 tips to share, so stayed tuned to more great ways to hearing your ‘voice’.
If you have any good experience or great tips on this topic, please feel free to share in the comments below!