Follow Your Inner Compass
Christopher Laney 
If you ask a pilot how he navigates, how he knows which direction to fly, the acronym GPS will probably appear somewhere in the answer. After all, there are no signs in the sky. I’ll admit, the GPS is a wonderful invention, but it’s useless if you lose electrical power in the plane. That’s why most planes have a basic compass mounted near the windshield. It’s a simple thing, white markings on a black ball that rotates freely in a clear, plastic housing. If the GPS fails, you can count on the compass to ensure you fly the right direction. But even the best compasses can give wrong indications. If you have magnetic interference near the plane’s compass, perhaps an electronic item in close proximity on the dashboard, you may get a false reading.
Planes aren’t the only things that have compasses. We do too. Some may call it intuition or instinct; others may call it a higher power, but all of us have an inner compass that helps us reach the place in life we are meant to be. This compass—or inner voice—gives us guidance, tells us what is right for us and what is not. But too often, our chaotic lives generate so much interference—distractions, endless mental chatter, packed schedules—our inherent ability to follow that inner compass is diminished. So what can life travelers do to get the most out of their internal compasses?
Here are a few ideas to help you reduce the interference and target what is right for you:
Stop and listen - When our lives move at the speed of light, we often don’t stop to pay attention to our inner compass. In the movies, while trekking through the jungle or desert, how often do the heroes whip out their compasses while still on the move? Hardly ever! They stop to get their bearings. Take time each week from your busy schedule to get your bearings. Find quiet locations that sustain you, places where you can better hear that inner voice. Nature is a wonderful place to break free from the chaos. Find a bench in a tranquil park. Scope out a wooded trail on a local greenway, one where you can perch on a log under vast green canopies and be still. Wait, watch, and listen. Soon the haze will lift, allowing you to tune into that inner place that knows what to do.
Learn to quiet your mind - This one is similar to the previous item, but it deserves its own category. You may stop and listen, but if endless chatter dominates your mind, you won’t hear anything else. Many would call this meditation, but I believe that word intimidates some people. I don’t think it’s the concept that intimidates, but rather that meditation is perceived as difficult to master, so some may think, why bother? Novices often envision sitting for hours with an erect back and hands folded in lap. That’s fine if you can do it, but it’s not a firm requirement to receive benefits. Simply pick a few times a day to clear your mind, to let go of the mental noise that parades through your head. Some complain of thousands of thoughts that vie for attention. In my case, it’s just a few nagging thoughts that monopolize my mental space, ones that play over and over again like a broken record or an annoying song you can’t shake from your head. When I quiet my mind and jettison that endless loop, what I’m really doing is clearing a landing pad for the answers I seek. A side benefit is I often get new ideas and big picture concepts that descend upon that open space as well.
Stop listening to what other people say is right for you - Most often these are people close to us like a parent or a friend. But even total strangers sometimes want to tell you what you should do. Practice tuning these people out. I’m not saying you shouldn’t consider other people’s advice. I’ve just found the people who give the best advice are not the ones that tell me what I should do in a situation, but those that tell me what they did in a similar situation. When conveyed that way, I’m on the outside of the situation, hearing one person’s approach to it, rather than being told what to do. Deep down, you know what is right for you; others don’t. Let them worry about themselves.
Flip a coin - This may sound frivolous at first. But when I’m faced with a tough decision, confused between opposing paths, and my inner voice seems drowned out by too much life noise, I will flip a coin: heads for one path, tails for the other. One of two things happen: either the coin will land on one representative choice and I’ll feel instant relief or it will land on the other and I immediately have the urge to flip again, to make it two out of three. If I feel that desire to flip again, I know that the other choice was the right one. By no means am I saying that a coin toss should determine vital life choices, but how you feel after the coin decides is a good indicator if that choice is right or not.
Ultimately, you must have confidence in your inner compass. Most of us know it lies within, but some of us are a bit rusty using it. Try the methods above to get in sync with this wonderful gift you possess. Use it to remain true to your course and, in the end, true to yourself.
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 8:39PM | in Flying, Guidance, Intuition, Quiet Mind, Reaching Your Dreams, Success | Share | 16 Comments | Email Article Tweet
Reader Comments (16)
I love the flip a coin technique. I do something kind of similar when I need to make a tough choice. I ask myself, "If I could make whatever decision I wanted and be guaranteed that everyone would be supportive and think it was a wonderful, which choice would I make?" Phrasing it that way for me takes the noise of other people's judgements away. Once I know what decision I WANT to make, then I go back and add in reality and say, "Okay. Now that I know what I want, am I willing to deal with the reality that so-and-so's feelings will be hurt, or that people will think it's crazy, etc."
Being clear on what I want makes it much easier dealing the the pressures of others.
Another inspiring post.
My inner compass refreshes its focus as I sleep, so if I have to make a decision that requires access to the intuitive wellspring spiraling through my subconscious, I fill a glass of water before bedtime. I drink half of the water as I mentally review the dilemma and articulate a question that, answered, would lead me in the right direction. I then remind myself that I will rise in the morning, drink the remaining water, and the answer will flow into me, just as the water does.
Of course, it works like magic, but there's no magic involved. We all carry answers to our quests and questions, deep inside trails of swirling gray matter. The trick is to plant the question and then, as the old cliché commands, to sleep on it, knowing that our inner compass never fails to orient itself to TRUTH, which the compass sees as "True North."
I did not know you did a blog. Cool stuff and very insightful. One of the main reasons I've done 48 Hours for 5 years is to practice exactly what you are talking about here. I do like your coin flip trick - I will try that.
Thanks, Dena. I will try that next time I have a tough choice and see how it works. You're right, you can't worry about what those darn cats will think of you all the time. Sometimes you have to put yourself first over them. :)
Carol, in my first draft of the post, I actually wrote that we can ask specific questions and we'll hear the answers if we listen. I removed it to shorten the post some, but glad to see you do something similar. Hope your book signing went great!
Thanks, Stephen. Glad you like it. I think of you as a mainstay of that 48 Hour Film Project each year. Look forward to running into you soon.
When I am faced with similar situations I like to get on my bike and ride. On one particular loop I usually stop at a general store right about the half-way point and fill up my water bottle, get a powerbar, or if it's a cold day drink some green tea. I usually sit on the bench outside the store and just think. Today was a beautiful day and I was able to find my inner compass on several issues that have been draining energy from me and thus causing too much noise in my life. Great post and while I think I am too "rigid" for the coin toss I understand your point :).
Matthew, glad you were able to come to some resolution on the issues that have been draining you. Yesterday was a beautiful day here as well and one I'm sure reconnected lots of people to their inner compasses if they took time to be still and enjoy it.
Sometimes I seek affirmation from others to help choose a course but more often than not, the response conflicts with my inner compass. The main take-away is to trust your gut, your inner compass but when you crave and must have that affirmation, a coin toss is a great idea....just keep flipping until it says what you want to hear and already know. I have been trying to get in the habit of stopping and listening more often and love the tune "Don't Blink" as a reminder....it's so true. I have enjoyed your blogs as an opportunity to stop, listen, and think. Thank you.
Great stuff Chris! I must admit, I'm a little jealous that you're not only my own little Tony Robbins anymore but I guess advice and insight this strong should be shared. Congratulations on all this - you really deserve it!
It is amazing how often I actually decide things with a coin-flip. I does 1 of 2 things for me: (1) if I really don't have an opinion on something... problem solved, (2) if I do have a reservation, often the coin flips outcome with force me to say... No, that is not what I want to do.
R. Ankrom, just call the bat-line whenever you need it and I'll stunt double as Tony Robbins for you. Now, if I can just motivate you to get into the plane...
FupDuckTV, glad I'm not the only one that does the coin flip! Thanks for posting.
You have a gift, I think, of distilling some of the most important - and often forgotten - lessons and offering guidance that carries weight. This was a needed reminder for me. And like others who posted here, I'll give you extra kudos on the coin toss idea. Half-way through reading that one, I thought "How could I do that?" then immediately realized where you were going with it. "Tricking" or prompting myself to get at the truth is a brilliant idea! Thank you for this post... for this whole blog, actually!
The coin flips - good stuff. Nothing can take you further off course than indecision. After all, you have a 50% chance of being right!
Don'tBlink - Always good to see you here. Trusting your gut is wise.
Melody - Thanks for the compliment. Yes, it is funny how we can sometimes trick our minds into showing us what's really important. All we really did is cut through some of the mental chatter.
JCL - Although the coin trick just helps us realize which choice we really wanted, I agree that making a decision sooner rather than later often has the same affect. Sometimes we can make the wrong decision, then figure out it's wrong and reverse course so we are on the right path, faster than some people will make the right decision because they hem and haw for lengthy periods until they are forced to choose.