4 Tips for living a radical heart-led life
Having the courage to follow your heart will lead you to live a radical life full of adventure. Following my heart was a challenge I gave myself when I hit rock bottom in my late teens. I have tried my hardest to follow it ever since.
It has led me to the most amazing people, teachers, relationships, countries and experiences that I could never have imagined. Living this way continues to present humbling surprises and after a while it becomes addictive as the personal growth experienced is so profound. However, the courage needed to face fears and remain open to change and vulnerability never fades, but the feelings associated with it are now a lot more familiar and in some cases exciting!
How do you know when you are following your heart? And how can you cultivate a heart-led life? Here are a few key tips I have discovered over the years.
#1 Identify the voice of the heart
Sometimes the voice of the heart is loud and may come in the form of a gut reaction that suggests an obvious action. But sometimes it comes as a whisper, as a feeling of expansiveness and inspiration which is usually followed by fear and shutdown. Instead of listening to the fear choose to listen to the inspiration, entertain it, visualise it, bookmark it, and go back to it so that it stays with you and becomes familiar.
#2 Make friends with crippling fear
You know that the heart is calling when you feel triggered, fearful, or anxious about a suggestion, adventure, decision, conversation or confrontation. Note, this is the type of fear that follows you around, gives you procrastination and usually causes anxiety. You don’t need to sit with this fear alone. Talk to people who are already living the way you want to live and to those you look up to, seek help to talk through what you would like to overcome and reframe the fear as a blessing for growth and adventure.
#3 Shivers, hairs sticking up, increased heart rate, feels in the body
If you are body sensitive then you know what I mean! This one always surprises me. For me, is has usually occurred when someone is talking about something I need to know about or is discussing a topic I am interested in but don't feel like I know enough to contribute to the conversation. LISTEN UP, ask questions, engage, and reflect on what about the conversation interested you. This can be an indication of a potential passion or project that you may want to explore.
#4 Set aside time to ‘be’ with yourself each day and shut out the noise.
We often have so much simulation around us that it can feel like we are being pulled in many different directions. This makes it hard to assess what we want, need and feel about events and circumstances that life serves us. The noise can drown out the inner voice of our wisdom, dreams and truth. Finding time to connect to yourself every day will give you the chance to check in with your responses to anything that maybe happening in your life and to choose more loving decisions. Whether it be meditation, 5 minutes of deep breathing, journaling, movement, or a cup of tea in the sun, giving yourself a moment to listen goes a long way.
The best way to implement these tips is by gently becoming aware of your responses as you move throughout your day.
Play a game with yourself, can you differentiate the voice of the heart?
What fears that are crippling you?
Are your senses firing?
And have you had a moment to connect with yourself today?