Listen to the strange pull inside of you and let it guide you

Here’s a Rumi quote I recently posted on my Facebook page: “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”

I can rephrase that to simply say listen to your heart. If you tap into what your heart is telling you, it will not lead you astray.

I often call it the inner voice, or IV for short. My IV is my lifeline and every time I listen to it, and let it lead me, it has always been the right choice.

Our IV is our higher self, our divine guidance. It is the voice of what you love, what you are wired to do. It is not a whiny, selfish voice saying go sit on the couch and watch television and eat ice cream. Well, maybe it is. If so, then do it. I promise you what the voice is telling you is that you need to take a break and do something restful and enjoyable.

After you take a pause, listen to your inner voice again. I am pretty sure it won’t tell you that you are meant to live out your entire life doing nothing but watching television and eating ice cream.

When you let yourself be pulled by what you really love, you will feel joy. You will feel a calm, along with excitement, and yes, there may be a little fear. Sometimes it seems scary to “be real.”

I admit I was a nervous bird when I first submitted a column to an editor and asked her to give me a try. (Thanks, Mel! Eternally grateful!). I was scared to try something new and different, and expose myself in that way. Yet I was drawn to writing. It was a strange pull, and yet I loved it. I still do.

Writing has not led me astray. It has led me to all that I have now, all that I am now.

Many people share similar stories. How many kids enter college thinking they will major in X, and yet when they let themselves be drawn to what is pulling at them from the inside, they change their major to Y or Z or leave college and pursue something altogether different.

Our world is better because of the inventions and creations of those who let themselves be pulled by what they really love. Our lives are better because of the people who decide they will do what brings them joy.

From the gardener to the baker to the teacher to the dentist to the guy who invents clever make-life-easier stuff to the parent who switches jobs to have more time with their kids to the farmer to the entrepreneur to the high powered business movers and shakers, we need them all. We appreciate them all.

I know people who at first felt a little nutty that they were pulled into their particular professions, and yet they let themselves be drawn by the strange pull of what they really loved. A realtor. A lawyer. An accountant. A writer. An artist. A comedian. A coach.

No regrets. Some jitters, some nerves, some hard work, yet none led astray.

What is the strange pull inside of you? Take some time to get quiet and listen. It will not lead you astray.