Get Back to Your Roots

Every time that I find myself sputtering, falling off track and wondering what the heck has gone wrong, I remind myself that I need to get back to my roots. I define, “roots” as the values, principles and core spirituality that make me who I am.

The more we understand our spiritual side- the inner-working of what makes us who we are- the greater chance we have at finding inner-peace.

The UC-Riverside Wellness program defines Spiritual Wellness as, “the ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives. The ability to develop congruency between values and actions and to realize a common purpose that binds creation together.”

The second sentence is a beautiful representation of taking the things that we believe, making sense of them and converting them into action, in order to attain harmony in our lives.

Mindfulness, meditation and prayer have been practiced for centuries- their common thread is finding solitude and concentrating on serenity. This takes discipline- a willingness to pursue real answers.

Finding Our True Identity

So often in life we live like actors- putting on a false self over our true selves to try and find happiness, humor or success. Our jobs can endorse this behavior but, sometimes we lead ourselves there when our minds go astray. The path of least resistance is choosing to live someone else’s life.

The road less taken, if you will, is when we aspire to live up to the values and high standards that we should all set for ourselves. The cumulative effect of our experiences, both good and bad, is the way we make sense of our reality. It’s how we process information and identify with ourselves and others, emotionally.

One of the most important parts of life- the thinking behind how we make our decisions-is affected by the aggregate of our experiences. When we’ve been hurt, mistreated or taken advantage of, we become hesitant and reluctant to trust others. That could lead us to deliberating longer over our decisions.Once we know in our heart what we want, we should reconcile that feeling with our minds. Then, we need to move swiftly for what we believe is right.

My new book is out November 8th. Pre-order HERE!Our Behaviors

“Successful people make decisions quickly (as soon as all the facts are available) and change them very slowly (if ever). Unsuccessful people make decisions very slowly, and change them often and quickly.” — Napoleon Hill

If you’re familiar with the StrengthsFinder assessment methodology, you’re likely aware that all of us gravitate toward particular behaviors based on our emotions, how we process information and our innate, unique understanding of the world. The assessment provides five particular areas that reflect the way we see the world.

Me? I’m a dead-red Futuristic as my numero uno quality. I’ve been this way all of my life. This means that my mind races ahead to what could be. Fortunately, my second characteristic is Activator. Which means I have the chops- the execution muscle to give life to my ideas.

While I often live, too much at times, in the Futuristic state, I’ve discovered that I need to better plan my days and put into writing what I desire to accomplish.

If you’re familiar with the DISC Assessment, I’m an extremely intuitive lad. I’m a high “I”- someone who lives with a tremendous fire in my belly, influenced by inspiring emotions, excitement of future successes and the desire to produce bold change in the world.

Patience Under Pressure

Living with a futuristic mindset, one that places tremendous optimism and faith in our futures, requires us to believe that the pieces- which are not already assembled in our lives- will come together in due time. Patience, the virtue that requires us to have faith, dares us to live disciplined lives. Patience encourages us to believe that “our time” will come around. This is directly correlated to an outward expectation of future happiness.

The greatest pressure we deal with is often that which we put on ourselves.When we have high expectations in a creative or artistic venture, the need to create and develop organic, valuable material is immense. The best work we do in life is when we don’t care what others think; when we create without worry.

We may expect a lot of ourselves, which comes through setting objectives and goals, but that’s not the same as putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves to perform. Pressure is increased when we procrastinate and find outlets to use up our time on activities that don’t match our plans. Pressure also comes when we set unrealistic goals.

Next time you find your mind wandering aimlessly, get back to your roots. Get back to your values. Remind yourself of your core values — those that breathe life into you and make your tick. Act on those qualities and allow them to transform your mind for the better.

Value Yourself!

My upcoming book on Values is due out November 8th! Pre-order it now!

Contact me if you’d like, Follow my Facebook Page and Join me on your journey. Let’s GO!

Get Back to Your Roots was originally published in Personal Growth on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.