Soul searching is the act of turning your attention inward, of focusing on yourself and doing an analysis of who you are. We soul search when we are faced with a moral dilemma. We soul search when we need to make sense of how we got where we are today. We soul search to try to remember who we really are and who we want to be.
When was the last time you consciously analyzed yourself or your situation?
There is tremendous power in soul searching. It’s like stopping the car, orienting yourself, and making sure you’re still driving in the direction that leads to a destination you still desire.
It’s so easy to get off track in life. We are influenced by the people around us, by the advertising that bombards us, by the decisions that lead us to new places.
Are you where are you because you drove there consciously? Or are you sitting in the backseat of life, allowing your car to be driven by external factors?
I invite you to do a little soul searching. Stop the car for a minute and see where you’re headed, because that’s going to be where you end up. If you don’t want to end up there, you can take the wheel and turn your car in a new direction. It’s never too late.
I’ll get you started by posing a few questions for you to answer.
Which activities or situations in your life currently make you happy and which ones drain you and bring your energy down? Make a list. Don’t worry about what you’re going to do about it, just make an honest list for now.
Who in your life lifts you up, supports you, makes you feel good when you interact with them? Who in your life makes you feel drained and unsupported? Make another list. Hang on to it for now.
What do you love to do? How do you love to spend your time when you are free to choose? What do you wish you could do more of, more often? This list contains clues to your future happiness.
Who are you at your core? What are your values? Are you engaged in any activities that violate your top values? Is there a way you could stop engaging in those activities?
Soul searching is like accessing a map and checking in to make sure you’re going in a direction that you desire.
You can’t make changes to your life without first taking an inventory of what’s working for you and what isn’t.
When you look at what uplifts you and what brings you down, is there anything you can do to remove the negative and have more of the positive?
It’s going to be up to you to make changes to your life that will result in a better destination for you. But you can’t make changes to things you’re not aware of.
So spend some time soul searching. The tremendous power of shining a light on yourself and your activities will allow you to make changes and make your life much better.
Your life is like a block of clay. You can sculpt it to your own satisfaction. And if you don’t like how it’s looking, you can remodel it.
Create a vision in your mind of where you want to go and who you want to be. Then start sculpting, section by section, little by little. Carve out your happiness one change at a time. It will be worth the effort. But start with a soul search.
