Course corrections

Every vehicle (car, ship or plane) arrives at its destination by making course corrections.

by John Freedom — 

Have you taken stock of your life lately? Have you looked back over the old year, and started to survey a promise of the future? As you look ahead and peer into your crystal ball to see what lies ahead, what do you see for yourself? Where are you headed? And wherever you are headed, is that where you really want to go?

Every vehicle (car, ship or plane) arrives at its destination by making course corrections. Even with very accurate radar and navigation systems, planes are continually correcting their courses, turning slightly left or right in response to changes in wind, altitude, flight progress, etc. In a similar way, as you set goals, make plans and navigate the trajectories of your life, you are called upon to make continual course corrections.

Some of these are major, such as changing careers, moving to a new home, getting into or out of a relationship, or having children. But most course corrections in life, like those of planes, are very small and almost unnoticeable.

How do you know when it is time to correct your course? The universe continually gives out subtle signals and messages. Some of these can be loud (like being fired from a job), but most are relatively subtle and quiet, even whispers. Many times these hints and whispers come in the form of physical or emotional pain, discomfort or dissatisfaction.

If you are feeling dissatisfied in your job, what is this telling you? It may or may not mean it is time for a career change. Say you are not getting along with your boss. You cannot change other people; they are who they are, and for better or worse, they do what they do. There is only one person you can change. What adjustments can you make in your own attitude, perception or behavior to improve the situation?

If you are feeling unhappy in your relationship, what is this telling you? Usually this is interpreted to mean that the relationship is not right or the other person is being selfish, especially when things are not going well. But when you look objectively at what you are doing to attract, maintain or condone this behavior, or how you are contributing to this problem and what you can do to create a better situation, you are now putting yourself in the driver’s seat. It takes two to tango; so if you have an issue, then that issue is your responsibility. It is time for a course correction.

Most course corrections are relatively minor. Just changing your perception of a situation, even if the external behavior may remain the same, is huge. Perceptions are filtered through the windows of the past and through your experiences of pain, neglect and trauma when you were a child. Looking at how memories of those experiences are triggered by the present, resolving the earlier trauma (whether through EFT, hypnotherapy or self-introspection) and then taking responsibility for those perceptions can transform your experience during difficult situations.

You are responsible for what you consciously or unconsciously choose to experience. This does not mean that you have to stay in an abusive relationship or put up with a lousy job. Sometimes you are called upon to make major course corrections in your life. But whether your course corrections are major, minor, conscious or unconscious, you are continually making choices to follow the same ruts and patterns or to change and transform those patterns for the better.

I wish you much love, many blessings and positive course corrections in your life.

John Freedom, CEHP, EFT/MBT practitioner and trainer, and Chair, ACEP Research Committee. 520-241-5124 or www.energypsych.org.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 30, Number 2, April/May 2011.