One of the most common themes of the last two years have been feelings of disconnection, not just from others because of the pandemic, but also with self. This is extremely prevalent amongst entrepreneurs because many of us are really good at focusing on our external successes as our businesses do take up a lot of time and energy.
What ends up happening is that because we have that focus on the external, we end up ignoring everything that's going on inside of us instead. And because the majority of us either are living in a painful past or a feared future, we end up developing a subtle, or sometimes even acute, sense of unhappiness underneath the smiles and laughs.
Today as we enter into 2022, I want to personally invite you and challenge you to work on concurrently building success on the inside too. If you follow the steps listed below, you can be assured that you'll find this year the happiest, most successful, and most centered year you've ever had.
Why do most people feel disconnected?
Generation Z is the loneliest generation. A staggering 79% of USA Gen Z reported feeling lonely, compared to 71% of Millennials and 50% of Boomers. The endless doom-scrolling online and comparison on social media can add to the feelings of isolation.
Have you ever said any of the following to yourself?
- When I make a million dollars, then I'll be happy.
- When my business is making ten million dollars, then I'll be happy.
- When I get that car, then I'll be happy.
- When I've got a good relationship, then I'll be happy.
Can you see how there's a "When-Then" paradigm that's happening here? This is how many people live their day-to-day. They put their happiness up with conditions like this. And it's kind of like you're heading towards a mirage or the horizon - you never reach it. Not only are most entrepreneurs really bad at looking back at the journey covered and the achievements they have gotten, but they are constantly adding on new "When-Then" conditions, putting another bandaid onto the stuff that's going on internally.
That's the scariest thing - achieving what society calls success and not feeling successful or happy.
There are so many people living in their dream house feeling empty, driving their dream car feeling inferior, running their $10 million company, feeling small, or with relationships that look good on Instagram but are feeling undernourished.
If we're living with this incessant unhappiness that rests just below the surface thinking that when we get somewhere or when we get something or when we achieve something, it's going to fix it all., we're just chasing a mirage. So what can we do to fix this?
Awakening from feelings of disconnection
Consciousness for me is about the level of awareness that you bring to yourself, to others and to your environment. It's about waking up.
So many of us are walking around in a hypnosis of disempowerment, feeling disconnected from self, feeling disconnected from others, feeling disconnected from their path, and feeling like that's just the human condition and that there's nothing you can do about it.
Instead, I want us all to realise that there is a way to reconnect to self, to your path, and to your mission by living from the inside out and not the other way around.
How do you start doing that? Start by getting attuned to what's going on inside of you and living from that place first. Not only does that give rise to a much more fulfilled experience of life for you and your loved ones but also makes you more successful in business and life.
Once you start living more attuned to what's inside of you, no longer will success be a mirage that lives in the future. You'll instead, not only start showing up better for yourself, your relationships and your business, but you'll also start becoming a better leader, a better business person, a better friend, and a better partner.
And you won't lose your drive. You'll be driven instead by something far more powerful than a want for external success and 'happiness'. You'll be driven by true happiness and when you're happy and nourished, you're more intelligent, you're more creative. You'll be able to make better decisions, you'll see situations clearer, and respond more appropriately.
Steps to reconnecting to self
So, where do you actually start to go from feeling disconnected to then feeling whole, nourished and centered?
Start asking questions like this to yourself:
- How do I feel?
- How did this situation make me feel?
- When I do this, how do I feel?
- When I interact with that person, how do I feel?
- I just felt triggered by something, what was it about my response to that that caused me to be triggered by that?
Rather than pushing down and making your inner state of being subordinate to absolutely everything else, bring it to the surface and make it primary. All of the masters, the great entrepreneurs, will tell you that they were guided by their intuition, their gut, their inner guidance system.
Next, put into practice some rituals that will help you connect to self. While it's great to internalise the questions above, it's even better to actually write it out and read back your thoughts. So, get out a pen and start to bring awareness to things like:
- How do you feel in this moment?
- How do you feel relative to how well you're maximising your potential as a human being?
- How do you feel about the last couple of years?
- How do you feel about where you're going or what you'd love to create now and in the future for yourself and your loved ones?
- How do you feel about the current state of your relationships?
- How do you feel about how you're showing up for those that you're in relationships with?
This is how you start tuning into your inner guidance system.
Some rituals other than journalling for me include things like meditating, training, walking along the ocean, being in nature, reflecting. Those are the things specific to me that connect me back to self and help me become more attuned to my inner guidance system to make decisions from a much better place than if I was running around, busy, stressed and disconnected.
Take inspiration from my rituals and put into practice what feels right for you.
Prioritise yourself in 2022
If you truly want to make an impact, if you truly want to become happier and more successful, and if you truly want to show up better for those around you, then start prioritising your inner state of being as much as you prioritise looking successful externally. Then once you've gotten there, then start prioritising only your inner state of being.
Then watch how much more success you create externally but more importantly, internally, from living in that place.
Reconnect with self. Awaken from the hypnosis of disempowerment. Really start to tune into who you are, how you're living, what it is you want, and what you want to create, so you can truly maximise what it is you came here to do. If you can start to practice living from that state, then 2022 and every year after will be happier.
