As you know, living life on my own terms and choosing my own path is as essential to me as oxygen. Luckily for the kick off of my Blog Babysitter Series, today’s guest blogger feels the same. Below, I am happy to share with you the brilliance of Martine Holston, a fabulous Vision Cartographer who believes that the world needs visionaries to propel our evolution & expansion.
If you’re anything like me, making decisions – big and small – is a challenge. It feels like there are so many factors to consider, so many different perspectives to take into account, and a constant search to find the “right” answer. As personal development junkies, sometimes we can use all of the tools in our arsenal to distract ourselves from getting to the heart of the matter.
How do I feel my Core Desired Feelings in this situation – all 10 of them? Should I meditate and let an answer come to me, or should I create a vision board? What do I need to do to manifest this – change my vibration or take action?
The very thing that should bring clarity can make things cloudy because we use them as a distraction to avoid focusing on what is real. And what is real is you: the intersection of your soul’s desires and your soul’s work in the world. But how do you find that?
There are many different tools, but the one I find most useful and that I use with my clients is to create a compass. A compass orients you to where you are. A compass redirects you when you are lost. It gives you a sense of direction as you travel. It points you to your True North – what your soul yearns to create and do in this lifetime. It’s essentially your Why. In my Vision Map Compass sessions, I create an individualized Compass for my clients by identifying their True North, their values and principles. It serves as a foundation for them to make decisions for their business and their life. Having a visual makes it easy for them to see when they are off-course and what their blind spots are.
But I’ll let you in on a secret – everyone’s True North is happiness. Or rather, that unique thing that makes them happy. That’s it. Whatever makes your soul happy is your soul’s purpose in the world. Simple as that. All these tools are just different ways of articulating what it is that makes your soul happy. Bottom line: Don’t you just want to be happy?
So what if, instead of getting caught up in all the different logistics, factors, perspectives, and emotions, you simply asked yourself this question: “Will this make me happy?” or “What do I need to be happy?” Use happiness as your compass and orient yourself to what would make you happy.
Say you are job-hunting. You have an offer on the table. Instead of wondering if it’s the “right” move in your career, what your partner/parents/friends/colleagues would think about it, if it’s what you are “supposed” to be doing, ask yourself, “Will this job make me happy?” Also ask yourself, “What do I need to be happy?” and ask for those things during your negotiations.
What if you stopped worrying about everything else and all you desired in your relationship was to be happy? It doesn’t matter if they are your soulmate, if they’re the “right” person, if they are giving you all the things that Hollywood RomComs tell us we should want. Simply, are you happy? What do you need to be happy? And ask for it.
“Being happy means you’re on the right path, like breadcrumbs on your way to remembering who you are.” [Tweet It!]
Instead of trying to figure out the “right” thing, your only work is to figure out what makes you happy. I know that can be no easy task when we’ve been focusing on the “shoulds” for most of our lives. Here are a few practical tools to help you begin to use happiness as your compass:
- In an area where you’re currently unsatisfied, journal asking yourself “What would make me happy?”
- If you feel like you are out of touch with what makes you happy, start carrying a small notebook or create a note on your phone and write down the little things that make you happy over the course of a day or week.
- Set an alarm for a random time during the day. When it goes off, write down what makes you happy in that moment. Set alarms at different times throughout the course of a week. If you feel like nothing is making you happy in that moment, ask yourself what would make you happy – write it down and do it immediately.
- What decision are you hung up on? Take everything off the table and and ask if it would make you happy, or what you need to make you happy. See if you get clarity and a fresh perspective where before you felt stuck and limited.
Martine Holston believes the world needs visionaries – they propel our evolution. Each vision that comes to life is fundamental to our collective expansion. As a Vision Cartographer (and consultant to visionaries), she’s been featured on The Daily Love, Tiny Buddha, Mind Body Green, Live in the Grey, and Brazen Careerist. When she’s not creating strategy maps for visionaries, Martine is zipping up and down the California coast running through vineyards, hiking through forests, and doing yoga on the beach. She is currently offering Vision Compass Sessions to help entrepreneurs and small business owners find their True North and visually represent their brand values. Spend some time exploring how creative strategy maps can help get you where you want to go at visioncartography.com.
Instagram: @martineholston
Twitter: @martineholston
Are you ready to figure out what’s holding you back? I would love to see how I can help. Click here to speak with my team and find out how you can make a shift in your life.
