Wake Up and Pay
Attention
Tim Connor
In one of my
favorite books, Wake-Up Calls by
Eric Allenbaugh - he discusses a simple yet vital life aspect and that is
simply paying attention to each of the lessons life is trying to teach us moment
by moment and day by day so we can avoid the larger negative consequences that
can occur later when and if we ignore these often subtle and little details and
messages.
What is a wake-up call (as Eric
explains) and how can we learn from them?
Our outside
an inside world constantly send us signals – some are subtle while others can
be like a 2X4 across our forehead but in the end their purpose is the same – to
teach us lessons, to get us to pay attention or to alert our awareness about
things that need to change in some way.
A wake up
call can be anything from – a driver cutting you off on the high way to a pain
in your lower back. These signs in the
early stages, where something in your life needs to change, can be annoying at
best but in the end if we fail to pay attention to the small or little signals
and fail to learn, grow or make the changes necessary – trust me – the signals
will just keep on coming – and as time passes depending on the issue or
challenge – these signs will tend to increase in frequency or their impact –
from a lower back pain once in a while to persistent back pain.
Life wants
us to be happy, successful and live with joy or peace and if we fail to achieve
these it’s usually because some change needs to take place in our life or
lifestyle.
I’m sure you
know someone who seems to be on a relentless path to self-destruction - I know
a few people like this. At one time in
my life I too was headed down the wrong path and life kept nudging me little by
little. One of these nudging led me to
Eric’s book in a small bookstore in the mountains of North Carolina.
I was just
browsing through the store as I do a lot and something kept telling me to bend
down and look at the bottom shelf. When
I did I saw dozens of books but my sight was drawn to his book. I picked it up, browsed through it and then
put it back on the shelf. But something
inside me said to buy it and I did. Ever
had a similar situation and I don’t necessarily mean in a bookstore?
I’ll bet you
have had many of these subtle signals – maybe to let something go, change
something, go somewhere etc. When you
followed these urgings (and who knows where they come from) something in your
life improved, changed for the better or something negative was let go of.
These happen
to each of us multiple times each day.
Are they divine messages or something else? I don’t know for sure but what I do know is
that when I honor them things seem to work out and when I don’t well, the
signals just keep coming and depending on the issue – a relationship, a career,
a health challenge or a financial circumstance they increase in severity –
basically telling me – pay attention or at some point in the future we WILL get
your attention with a major catastrophe, disappointment or sever life
situation.
Another of
my favorite authors Eric Butterworth says it like this, “God’s law of
adjustment regulates all of the affairs of my life. All things are in divine order, now and
always.”
Why do we ignore these little nudging
as they show up in our life?
In a book I
just finished, and I have added it to my recommended reading list is by Singer
– The Untethered Soul, he goes into great detail, but with an easy to follow
approach how our thinking determines what we pay attention to and what we don’t
and why.
Let me
briefly summarize the major reasons why we ignore these early signals – to our
peril I might add if you skipped the previous section.
Ego – I am
better than my circumstances. I know it
all. I know what is best for me in my
life. I am the smartest person in the room. I don’t need other people’s
guidance, feedback, suggestions etc. I will do what I want when I want and how
I want – period. Know anyone like this?
Fear – If I
change something - the unknowns in the future scare me. What if I can’t handle them? What if they don’t work out for me? Fear of
other’s rejection. What if the other
person doesn’t like the way I dress, talk, drive, eat etc. I need to be approved by everyone. Know anyone like this?
Busyness – I
don’t have time for this. I have too
much on my plate. What I am doing is far
more important than dealing with this distraction now. I have so much to do – this can wait till
tomorrow. OK, know anyone like this?
Arrogance –
I can handle this. I don’t need to
change or improve. I am as good as I
need to be. It’s everyone else who needs
to wake up. Who needs help anyway, surely not me? OK I’ll stop asking the closing question –
I’m sure you get the strategy by now.
Stress –
When under stress or what can be called ‘panic mode’ we all do stupid things
and make bad decisions as we want whatever is causing the stress in our life to
just disappear. But, as a result of these stress related actions and decisions
we just tend to make things even worse.
Impatience –
The number one contributor to stress, disappointment and anxiety is a lack of
patience. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a
traffic jam or the actions or lack of action by a friend, client, customer or
loved one the outcome is the same.
Impatience says – I need and want to have control of everything and I
need and want it now. Believe me this is
not a way to solve your issue with impatience.
Sooner or later we are all disappointed by something or someone. Deal with it.
How can we tune in to these signals and
have complete awareness of them?
There are
many steps we can take but here are ten of them.
-Stay
present – Life is now – not tomorrow or yesterday. We can’t change the past and we can’t control
the future so spending time in either place is wasted time.
-Let go –
Surrendering to things that no longer matter but maintain an emotional control
over us is stupid. Be willing to admit
and face and let go of stuff that wastes valuable present moments.
-Stop – If
you don’t stop now and then and just listen – to life – to God – to your body –
your feelings – you will never hear or be aware of the messages that are
constantly being sent to you.
-Honor – Be
willing to follow your inner guidance system’s messages. They are there non-stop but you must be
willing to honor and follow them if you want to avoid the path of
self-destruction.
-Trust – We
must learn to trust that which we have no power to control. This isn’t always an easy task but one that
will pay huge dividends in your life.
-Accept what
is – It is what it is. And it is what it
is due to our previous actions, decisions, choices and behavior. Yes, stuff happens but if we continue to
resist and fight reality we will only bring ourselves more disappointment.
-Relax –
Spend time doing nothing and I mean nothing. Maybe a walk in the woods, a time
of thoughtless meditation or prayer.
-Turn off
your negative mind – The mind thinks 60/24/7, it never stops. And what it focuses on is either manifesting
what we fear or what we love. If you want to turn off the negative influence of
negative thoughts you must learn to focus and concentrate on the positives no
matter what is going on in your life.
-Show
appreciation – The best way to stay out of fear mindsets and pay attention to
what is (and what you can’t control), is by learning to be aware of all of the
times, circumstances and people who deserve a simple – thank you. Appreciation
comes from a love (not romantic love) of self- life, others and just each
moment you are given.
-Be willing
to change – Change is constant. We can either
change for the better or we can change for the worse. Guess which one will best
serve your life and future. Change isn’t
easy but we do it all day every day. The
key is to pay attention to the inner urgings that are trying to get you to
change something and then guess what?
Change them.
“We create our
fate every day we live.”
Henry Miller
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