To continue an ongoing discussion that emerged from an earlier post: I wrote about humility being a necessary part to work with the Disquiet (read here). Adam at Monk at Work came back with a great comment that led me to write about the Disquiet not as a sign that something’s wrong but a wonderful Geiger counter of sorts signaling you when you are out of synch with your deepest values and callings (read here).

Adam built on this at his blog and came up with 3 important action steps that could be very useful when working with the Disquiet:

How to Follow the Lonely

If you’ve got a feeling that you’re missing something, doing something wrong, or you just feel bugged about your course through life, then you just may need to “follow the lonely.”

First, take it as a sign that there is more to be had - not that you are “doing it wrong.” If there’s anything going around that there’s too much of, it’s the thought that we “should” be doing something else that we don’t know about. If you were supposed to be doing it, it would be brought to you to consider. Listening to what’s in front of you or not - that’s a different question altogether.

Then, take the time to connect into your own heart, and your heart’s knowing. Ask to be shown what you need to see; that’s the easiest and most direct way to get the guidance you need.

And now, for the brave part: Say Yes to what you were shown. Following what your heart knows to be true, and living by the yearning of your heart — these things are what stretch you, and make your life a more authentic representation of your desires, values, and intentions.

That last one is a big one isn’t it?  Have you ever been right on the verge of taking action, going in a new direction or following a call to change and you just stayed on that edge, not budging? It seemed just too far to jump.

Even when it’s the ‘right’ move, fear of change, the unknown and failure are very powerful glues that keep our feet rooted. It does indeed take courage to answer what your heart knows is true. It also takes faith, a trust built on previous experiences of having struck out on a lone path before.

As we get older and the weight of responsibility gets heavy, taking such risks gets scarier and scarier. We can rationally explain why we must not follow our path. That is when the Disquiet kicks up in a huge way.

Joanne Hunt of Integral Coaching Canada wrote about his beautifully in the article “Tiptoeing Safely Toward Death“.

“On the off chance that you can do what your heart has been screaming at you to do since the moment that you could remember silent screaming, I say, go do it.

Don’t tiptoe safely. Don’t tiptoe at all. Step fully. Step on things if you
have to. Fall down if you need to. But do it.

You have not grown old.

It is not too late.” -

© 2007 Joanne Hunt

So fall down if you need to but do step forward - step fully towards what the deepest part of you is showing you. That is how to respond to your Disquiet.

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Tags: Resources, The Disquiet, Working with change, working with the Disquiet, adam kayce, connect to heart, fear of change, follow the lonely, integral coaching canada, joanne hunt, Tiptoeing Safely Toward Death

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