“Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends.”
–One Stab, Legends of the Fall

 
This is a great quote from one of my favorite movies. It brings to mind how simple, yet how complex it can be to live your life listening to and being guided by your inner voice. And how hearing and listening to your inner voice can give you clarity, direction and peace of mind–and help you fulfill your life’s intention.

So what is your inner voice? To me it is your authentic self and your intuitive self—intuitive as in your natural instincts and the voice of your soul’s purpose. One way to look at it is that your inner voice is your soul’s whispers to you—the hints about where to turn or go, quiet guidance that gets louder when you don’t at first listen to it; where your intentions are set and where reminders of your passions live; where ideas are formed and imagination is fueled; and where your emotions and feelings are grounded.

Your inner voice is yours and yours alone. It knows what is best for you at any given time and functions always in your best interest and in ways that the rational mind can’t always understand. Sometimes—and we have all experienced this—your inner voice may not make sense to your logical mind.

Many of us have experienced that feeling of something not “feeling” right—where your senses are heightened, things may not “add up,” etc., but logically you can’t articulate or define why in that moment. It just is and when you act based on that inner voice you feel safe, content, better—that you did the “right” thing. Your inner voice provides you with internal guidance that never fails you.

At times it can be difficult to be in tune with your inner voice, and not only to listen but to live by your inner voice. There are so many distractions—over stimuli in our daily lives that result in physical and mental noise. In a world of data and more data, we begin to believe that we need evidence to make the “right” decision or take an action.

Then there are expectations (Freeing Yourself of Expectations) that we impose on ourselves and that others impose upon us. And we let ourselves be influenced by the opinions of others—since we become unsure of ourselves. We start to not trust our “gut” or intuition and (back to the world of data) there seems to be unspoken (negative) judgments about going by your “gut.”

Steve Jobs in his speech to the graduating class as Stanford University soon after his diagnosis of terminal cancer told the graduating class, “Don’t let the voice of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Take time to listen—really listen—to your inner voice. Don’t discount it. Don’t question it. Don’t turn your back on it when others question you or think you are not making sense. Learn to trust it and embrace it.

Your inner voice is not going to be heard like a literal voice. It whispers (or sometimes shouts) to you in many, many ways. These include gut feelings or hunches, dreams (day or night), moments of clarity (Clarity), impulse moments, repeated urges to do something; and in physical ways such as a shiver, goosebumps, waking up suddenly in the night, and many others. Pay attention to what you are feeling–and don’t over-think it. Acknowledge that this is your inner voice reaching out to you–telling you something. Listen to it!

To hear your inner voice consistently and to grow your trust in it, it helps to dedicate quite time each day when you can connect to your thoughts and emotions. For some, they like to do this in a meditative state or in a quite space. For others, they can do this when being active, such as when exercising, driving to work, taking a walk, cooking, etc. It’s important to make this part of your routine so that you don’t let the outer stimuli and others’ voices and expectations and demands drown out your inner voice. I would love to hear from you on how you hear your inner voice and the difference it has made in your life.