Listen To Your Voice

As a non-confrontational sort, I tend to avoid conflict as much as possible. I prefer to try and please everyone, even to the point of my own detriment. This week, I've had this thought of writing about tough choices we have to make and how many different voices we listen to in order to make the final choice. Yesterday I happened to be clearing out emails and happened across a blog that has been hovering in my inbox for a while. It was titled "Discover The Power of Your Voice" by Allison Vesterfelt. I thought it would be an article about confidence, public speaking and finding your literal voice! What it was, was actually echoing my current writing thoughts of decision making and empowering your own voice such that you can make your own decisions and be happy with it. (I encourage you to read her article as it is more than just my one pager and I think everyone could get something out of it.)

"How can you possibly measure your success or progress or integrity in life if you’re measuring by other people’s standards? The measuring stick is constantly shifting, depending on your circumstances, your situation, your surroundings, or who is doing the asking. You feel pulled between your boss, your mom, your friends, your spouse, and maybe, just maybe, some very quiet, inner-voice. And at some point, you will let one or more of them down. You cannot possibly meet so many expectations." - Allison Vesterfelt

How true is that! All those voices "helping" and "guiding" us to make a decision but ultimately it is you who has to live with the outcome. Perhaps we should be giving a bit more authority to our own voice. I know I am facing decisions that has the potential to affect a number of people and boy do I have a lot of people's voices in my head making their point of view and opinions known. Even in my mind, I still try to keep the peace and try and see how I could satisfy the requirements of every one of those voices. I realise now that it is impossible to do that, all the time. I am going to sacrifice myself and my power to decide what I want for myself and my family. I won't (can't) ignore the voices completely, and there will be times (many) when I will need an external opinion or a firm direction-shifting rebuke to keep me going in the right track, but I have my own voice and I trust what it tells me.

How well do you know yourself? It seems a bit of a strange question but is quite pivotal in understanding how you deal with situations and why your inner voice is speaking to you as it does.

According to your voice, are you someone who always has things happen to you or do you take it on the chin and say to yourself, "Let's deal with it!" ?

If you believe things just happen to you, there is an underlying belief that you have no control of circumstances, whereas the opposite also holds true. If you make life happen, you are in control.
How you react to situations is also within your control. You have the power to change your response to situations. You can choose to remain in a place of anger, frustration or depression or you can accept your lot and decide to make the most of your circumstances and plan your way forward.

Listen to your voice and learn to actually hear what it is telling you. You must process what it is saying. If what it is telling you, is not going to improve your situation, rethink it. Re-program it to take out the negativity. Eventually you will learn to trust that what it is telling you, is the best for you and it will be.